The plot is sinister: Officials in Washington conspire to keep the dollar low and force Japanese authorities to intervene in the exchange market to buy the U.S. currency -- not to save vulnerable Japanese exporters from the dangers of a high yen, but to keep the U.S. economy from sliding.
This story line from a top selling "manga" comic book in Japan is entertaining and delightfully implausible. Nonetheless, it highlights growing fears here over seesawing currency fluctuations.
There's little doubt that if the yen rises too much against the dollar, Japan's fragile export-driven recovery could sputter. Prices for Japanese products abroad would soar and earnings of major companies would plunge.