Endaka

However, its use in the context of recession was first used in 1992[citation needed], when Japan's economy slowed down, and again in 1995, when the yen hit its then-postwar high of 79 to the dollar.

Coupled with gigantic savings accumulated over decades from overseas surpluses, and soaring yen, Japan tried a number of measures to weaken its currency.

First it began to buy up properties overseas, such as the Rockefeller Center in New York City in 1990, as well as investing in US corporate bonds.

Another was state intervention BOJ in foreign exchange reserves, which it ultimately gave up in 2004 after accumulating nearly a trillion dollars.

US and European banks then loaned this money out to home owners in America, as well as big property investors in the Middle East.

[2] Japan saw renewed endaka after the massive 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, briefly hitting 75.5 to the dollar.