Is a currency war coming?

WHEN Shinzo Abe became Japanese Prime Minister on Boxing Day last year, he promised to deliver change.

Very shortly, he announced a 10.3 trillion yen (US$116bil or 2.2% of GDP) stimulus package to end deflation and pressured the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to adopt a 2% inflation target. As a result, the stock market index Nikkei jumped 28.3% from mid-November to current levels and the yen weakened by 20.1% from 75.7 to 90.9, its lowest level in over two years.