A Future Where The Japanese Yen Becomes A Reserve Currency

 

The Question:

Q. As a Japanese person, I think we ought to embrace both tolerance to accept a multitude a different values, while having the strength to explicitly state things when needed. Please tell us about the mindset and guiding principle for the people of Japan.

 
11 November 2012 at happy Science Tokyo Shoshinkan

Master Okawa’s Answer:

Japan is a homogeneous state with a single race, and I think that its long history of isolation has affected the culture. As a result, Japan is very bad at making friends with other countries, so there is a need to become a country that can make more friends. One reason for this drawback is language, so there is also the need to be able to use many different languages.

For instance, countries in South East Asia have tourist shops where shopkeepers make the effort to speak in Japanese. Japanese is said to be one of the hardest languages in the world, but these people are indeed speaking it.

On the other hand, it would be very difficult for Japanese people to speak in a foreign language to overseas visitors. This inability to provide the utmost service to people from overseas is something we must reflect upon.

 

Working To Make The Yen A Reserve Currency

America is now on the decline, and despite their progress the Chinese Yuan is far from becoming a significant world currency. The Japanese Yen on the other hand, shows a strange phenomenon where regardless of how chaotic and loose the political scene may be it has maintained its high exchange rate (at the time of the lecture).

I would personally aim for the Yen to become a reserve currency. I would like to take measures so that the Yen becomes an international currency, so it is one step closer to becoming a reserve currency. In another country, it would be unthinkable that the high Yen would continue through constantly switching Prime Ministers, a nuclear disaster, a magnitude 9.0 Earthquake, and a tsunami. It means that the Yen is very well trusted. With this level of trust, it would be worth trying to make the Yen a reserve currency.

Of course, we would need a strategy; it cannot be done without planning. Skeptics who think that the US dollar should remain the international reserve currency may not understand, but there would be plenty of merits if the Yen becomes a reserve currency.

One is that, you will be able to purchase anything in the world with money printed at the Bank of Japan. There will be no need for a collateral, only the need to print notes. In other words, business can be done entirely on a yen basis. If the Yen becomes a reserve currency, doubling the monetary base would automatically double the wealth of the country. This is why we should aim for the Yen to become a reserve currency. There is ample opportunity to pursue this course, seeing as the Yen is so stable.

It will probably take some time before Japanese becomes an international language. So if we first aim for the Yen to become a reserve currency, Japan will be trading, and thus connecting directly with countries all over the world. In one such case, it will become important to build friendly relations with other countries through business, trade, international dealings, joint ventures with overseas companies, and factory relocation.

By making the Yen a reserve currency, it reduces exchange risks and companies will become more stable and easier to manage.

 

Urgent Need To Build Up The Defense Industry

The other merit is as a countermeasure to China’s “Marine Surveillance” ships. These ships prowl the oceans near the Senkaku Islands like sharks, and it would be good to shake them off once in a while. There is a need for Japan to show them to “not take us too lightly”. As a country, protecting national interests is nothing out of the ordinary.

So Japan should use this opportunity to establish a proper defense industry. It is the perfect opportunity to do so. This will allow the economy to expand, and take in the unemployed. In comparison to China’s 2 million soldiers in the People’s Liberation Army, Japan’s self-defense force has only several hundred thousand. They are ten times larger, so if they decided to all land in Japan, it will cause mayhem.

Japan needs people to defend the country. Right now we are trying to send policemen to remote islands to defense them, but many police stations are short on people and civilians are struggling. So here, it is better to create a defense industry so people can be properly assigned their defense job.

When this is accomplished, it will serve to protect the country’s property, and will spread the idea that ‘Japan will safely guard any of your money’ from other countries. In fact, Jewish people may be able to will place their property in Japan’s hands without any worries.

And if President Obama’s efforts succeed in the redistribution of wealth, and America’s wealthy people decide to flee, Japan can draw them in saying “your taxes will be cheaper here.” If very wealthy people live in Japan, it would be very good for the country.

Bill Gates plans to build a holiday house in Karuizawa, Japan. If we want such people to enjoy and prolong their stay in Japan, it would be worth making preparations for good treatment and services. If Japan becomes a country that is stable and protects other peoples’ interests, famous and wealthy people who have fled to Singapore and Canada will also come to Japan.

 

The Power Of Thought, Conceptualization, And Action!

It is a long road ahead, so first it is important to have the power of thought and conceptualization. Please realize that specific strategies arise out of visualizing your goals. I mentioned China earlier, but many of the normal people are reading my books, especially people from seaside cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong. My books are serving the role that books such as “Self-Help” by Samuel Smiles and Yukishi Fukuzawa’s “An Encouragement of Learning” did in the Meiji Era. I have heard that the Chinese people who want to make money read my books and ignite their passion. I don’t know about the older generation, but there are some people who don’t mind the idea of a capitalist market economy, so we should make friends with them.

If Happy Science’s teachings are accepted around the world, and it begins to show results of economic growth overseas, the teachings will gradually start to spread throughout the world. In the end, it is all about having the power to think and conceptualize, and then putting that into action. In a decade or two, I promise it will become a reality.

 
A Future Where The Japanese Yen Becomes A Reserve Currency
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