Customers seeking currency exchange have surged at exchange offices in Tokyo's Shinjuku district as the yen strengthens. As of the 10th of this month, the yen had strengthened to around ¥154.98 per US dollar, with peak visitor numbers reportedly reaching nearly twice the usual level.
Currency exchange offices in Tokyo's Shinjuku district are seeing more customers, driven by demand for overseas travel and other factors as the yen strengthens. The number of visitors, normally averaging about 300 a day, has reportedly risen to around 500 over the past few days. The latest rate for exchanging into dollars was ¥154.98 on the 10th of this month, moving sharply toward yen appreciation from around ¥160.98 at the end of last month.
Against this backdrop, some observers believe that a stronger yen lowers import costs by making goods from overseas cheaper. At the same time, it has also been pointed out that a prolonged period of yen appreciation could cause disruption to the Japanese economy.
About 15 years ago, in October 2011, the yen reached an all-time high against the dollar at ¥75.32 per US dollar. At the time, overseas travel products were offered at lower prices, while the number of visitors to Japan declined. Compared with current levels, the yen was trading at less than half its current value.