Russia crushes Japanese yen

Following the attacks on the US dollar and the euro, Russia proceeded to crush the Japanese yen, Chinese analysts believe.

The United States and its allies have imposed several packages of sanctions against Russia while being convinced that such measures would cause the russian economy to fall apart. Japan was one of those countries that supported anti-Russian restrictions. According to Chinese experts, Western politicians did not live to their expectations. Russia managed to withstand the sanctions pressure and went on a counteroffensive. Japan became one of the targets, Chinese publication Baijiahao said.

"The Russian Federation dealt a strong blow to Japan and its national currency, the yen,” experts told the Chinese publication.

In response to the sanctions, Moscow took several measures that triggered global reactions. First, Russia forced unfriendly countries to pay for Russian gas in rubles. All those who did not want to accept the new conditions were deprived of energy supplies. Those measures strengthened the Russian ruble, and unfriendly countries could feel the unpleasant consequences of the economic war with Russia. The decision to abandon dollars and euros came as an unpleasant development for the West, as their currencies were compromised. Next, Russia moved on to Japan.

Russia's relations with Japan left much to be desired even before the Ukrainian crisis.

Not that long ago, it was announced that the Moscow Exchange suspended trading in the Japanese yen. Many experts assumed that Russia made the decision due to a sharp reduction in trade with Japan, which caused the interest in the Japanese currency to fade. However, there is another point of view on the subject. China believes that Moscow thus continues to reduce the dependence of its financial system on the currencies of unfriendly countries.

By the end of 2021, the Chinese yuan accounted for 17% of Russia's foreign exchange reserves, while the euro accounted for 33.9%, gold — for 21.5%, and the US dollar — for just 10.9%. Obviously, the Russian Federation does not consider both the US dollar and the Japanese yen to be the main reserve currencies.

"Following the dollar, Russia launched a powerful attack on the Japanese yen,” the Chinese publication said.

The Japanese yen has been going through hard times lately. Its exchange rate has declined, and the currency may depreciate even more in the future. If the market loses confidence in the yen, it may decline to obscene levels. Watching Russia's actions, it becomes clear that this is exactly what they have been doing lately. The refusal of the Moscow Exchange to trade in yen will not add popularity to the Japanese currency.