A tripolar international monetary system-centered on the U.S. dollar, the deutsche mark, and the yen - appears to be emerging. This paper not only assesses the role of the yen as an international currency but also presents a unified theory of international currency use and distinguishes between...

The 1970s saw the recurrence of major turmoil in the international monetary scene in which Japan played no small part. Japan’s response to past monetary upheavals has always been passive and there were occasions when its passivity and delayed response so undermined the working of the monetary...