A weak yen, skyrocketing food prices, and destructive tourism are ruining Japan — here’s how crypto can help

Japanese nationals and local residents are struggling more than ever to afford the basics of life in yen, and to thrive in the once-booming, now malnourished economy. Staples such as rice and octopus, as well as lodgings are skyrocketing in price, due to heavy dollar-based tourism, and the fallout of “covid” relief policies — but crypto can help, if people want it to. 

Money printer go brrrrr. This popular net meme basically sums up what’s happening globally, as the world’s everyday people struggle to make ends meet. But in economies that have to do battle with a roided-up, military-brawn-backed USD, things are getting even tougher. Enter Japan.

 

Tough going continues in Japan with record inflation, overcrowded cities, weak yen

Due to a strong US dollar and record stimulus measures (read: creating money from thin air) over the past four years, the land of the rising sun now has fallen into a truly depressing twilight that’s hard to see for folks not living it every day.

Estimates vary, but even conservative figures show the nation spending at least 16% of its GDP on economic amphetamines in 2020 alone, and this was followed by even more fiscal juicing in following years. And there’s not much hope to recover from the reckless spending. Now, with the yen falling to stand up against the dollar, folks living on JPY suffer.

“Retirees” in Japan’s aged population are being forced to scrape by on demanding full-time jobs to supplement paltry monthly pensions, which are below the poverty line, while locals are unable to afford lodgings to travel within their own country. But why?

As for the hotel situation, the hospitality industry is jacking up prices to capitalize on tourist dollars, and tourists are being green-lit like never before to travel around and see the beautiful Buddhist/Shinto archipelago.

One example is free domestic flights being handed out to tourists by Japan Airlines, amidst local concerns about overtourism and disrespectful foreign travellers disturbing and defacing local communities .

Beachside takoyaki stand in rural Japan.

Rice, octopus, and beer — necessities and previously cheap items jump in price

Amid fear mongering about rice and fuel shortages, Japanese are feeling the pain when filling up their shopping baskets. Local news outlet Nikkei has just reported a 20-yen price rise (per piece) when it comes to the traditionally cheap octopus-filled snack called takoyaki.

Asahi Super Dry and other beer prices are also set to rise by 5-8% in April next year due to rising material costs.

Kyodo News reported this week that due to inflation, booming tourism, and production costs, the price of newly harvested rice has surged 48% compared to last year, hitting price-highs not seen since 1993.

The combined effect of all the aforementioned factors — overtourism, inflation, and rampant money printing — is a Japan whose economy and recognized traditional culture are increasingly challenged.

So things are bad, and while there’s no quick fix for the financial dimming of the lights (while massive, energy-sucking states and corporations demand we take shorter showers and use less AC), sound money like crypto could be a tool for residents of Japan to survive, and start taking back control of their economic situations.

Dollar-to-yen rate. Source: Google

Limited supply and permissionless transactions: the value proposition of crypto

At time of writing, 1 USD is equivalent to about 152 JPY. So why does Japan’s fiat keep failing even after Bank of Japan intervention? The enemy is encoded into the way these modern monetary theory systems (don’t) work.

Zip forward to the future, and the yen could become even more devalued, resulting in greater and greater struggle for Japanese who have paid into pensions, worked hard all their lives, and are now getting nothing.

If the irresponsible printing and perverse incentives of modern monetary theory ( MMT ) persist, it is not hard to see how Japan’s status as a world economic powerhouse could be over, with the J-gov’s pet CBDC project taking the place of sound money.

Of course, there’s another way: neglecting this broken system for goods and cryptocurrencies with a limited supply (money that cannot be recklessly printed and devalued) and getting back to older Japanese means of trade such as community gardens, barter, and coin lockers for local veggies and rice. These things could help folks suffer less by avoided more centralized systems.

For lodgings, using online travel booking services that accept crypto to get more bang for one’s coins can stave off blood loss from paying in yen. Suffice to say, there are many alternatives to the current clown world system, but they require foresight, bravery, and risk.

The good thing about cryptocurrencies with robust networks is that, unlike fiat money, they can be used permissionlessly. The choice is ours.