Why is the japanese yen worth much less than USD & the Euro?

1 USD is worth 91 Japanese Yen


Even a Mexican Peso is worth a lot more than a yen.


Is this because Japan's economy?|||Remember that yen is the only currency unit in Japan while the US has cents as well as dollars. Right now a dollar is approximately worth 90 yen, so a cent is worth less than a yen.





As for the real value/buying power, well, a high school student working at a McDonald's in Japan can earn something like 800 yen/hour in Tokyo, and a cup of regular coffee at Starbucks or similar type of outlet costs 200 - 300 yen, just to give you an idea.|||I remember reading about this a little when I was looking into investing in the Foreign Exchange.





Now keep in mind this is veeeerry broad and not an incredible answer, but...





After WWII Japan went through major inflationary problems that they eventually reigned in, but as I recall it's still not amazing. Also, having a currency valued at much less, it's great for their export economy, because other countries can buy more when the Yen is worth less, and who doesn't love exporting more?





Keep in mind this is a very shallow answer.|||historic reason. but people never spend one yen, instead they spend 100 yen at least each time. yes japan does need to consolidate the numbers that they use to calculate their currency. it is not convenient, sounds a bit ridiculous...