Could Japan bring down the world economy? | The Economist Insider

日本能否拖垮全球经济?| 经济学家内部人士

Insider

2026-08-15

40 分钟
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Japan is having a moment—and not the good kind. The yen recently hit its lowest level in four decades. America swooped in to help stabilise the currency, but the intervention brought only a temporary reprieve. Japan’s vast hoard of financial assets means that problems in its economy can reverberate across the globe. What caused this mess? Is America right to intervene? And could Japan cause a crisis in the global financial system? Henry Curr, Josh Roberts and Ethan Wu, three of The Economist’s economics and markets experts, will consider what Japan’s predicament means for the world.
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  • Japan sits on both a tectonic and a financial fault line.

  • America's Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was recently so worried

  • about weakness in Japan's currency, the yen,

  • that he used the financial firepower of the US government

  • to prop up its value.

  • But Mr. Bessent's worries may not be over yet;

  • the currency has weakened again, interest rates are rising,

  • and a new government is on a spending spree.

  • Japan's financial system is intertwined with that of the world,

  • and some economists worry that it could blow up.

  • So could Japan take down the global economy?

  • I'm Henry Curr, and this is Inside Economics.

  • With me, I have Josh Roberts, our capital markets correspondent.

  • Hi, Josh.

  • Hi, Henry.

  • And joining down the line from Singapore,

  • we have Ethan Wu, our Asia business and finance editor.

  • Hi, Ethan, your first time on Inside Economics.

  • Welcome to the show.

  • Hi, Henry.