The yen has come largely unscathed through a recent spate of unnerving economic and corporate news, including the collapse of Sogo Co.
Sogo's failure has refocused attention on the nation's structural problems, fueling speculation that credit rating agencies would downgrade Japan's sovereign debt rating.
Then came news earlier this month that the Bank of Japan decided to end its "zero-interest-rate" policy, a move widely feared to undermine efforts to get the economy back on track.