Princes of the Yen | The Hidden Power of Central Banks

Independent documentaries. 

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Independent POV

Post-war Japan under US occupation and the censorship of Japanese culture.

General MacArthur's arrival and the staged press coverage.

Imposing democracy and changing Japanese thought.

Censorship of traditional arts, literature, and media related to the war.

Restrictions on depictions of MacArthur and discussions of censorship.

War crime tribunals and the narrative surrounding Emperor Hirohito's role.

Post-war economic policies, the banking system, and the return of wartime officials.

The state of Japanese banks and their war bonds after the war.

The Bank of Japan's solution to the banking crisis and the appointment of central bank governors.

Eikichi Araki's appointment, indictment, and subsequent return to the Bank of Japan.

Reinstatement of wartime bureaucrats after the 1951 amnesty.

US-led land redistribution and purging of the Zaibatsu.

Political landscape, the rise of Kishi Nobusuke, and the LDP's dominance.

Riots against the mutual defense treaty with the US.

Kishi Nobusuke's rise to Prime Minister despite war crimes suspicions.

Kishi's wartime role and post-war political maneuvering.

The formation and dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Shifting public perception of US troops from occupiers to friends.

The Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Japan, and the 'window guidance' system.

The Ministry of Finance's control over Japan's economic life.

The Bank of Japan's control over credit creation through 'window guidance'.

Mechanics of 'window guidance' and its impact on industrial sectors.

Economic growth, wealth distribution, and the rise of cartels.

Japan's economic miracle, the bubble economy, and its consequences.

Japan's economic success despite not fully relying on free markets.

Downplaying the role of 'window guidance' and the introduction of government bonds.

Financial deregulation and the Maekawa report proposing economic reform.

The deliberate creation of a bubble by the Bank of Japan and its impact on asset prices.

Bank of Japan's role in fueling the bubble through increased lending quotas.

The bursting of the bubble, the ensuing recession, and the Bank of Japan's response.

Yasushi Mieno's appointment and the shift in monetary policy.

Abolition of window guidance and the resulting confusion among banks.

Economic fallout: job losses, bankruptcies, and market decline.

Pressure on the Bank of Japan to lower interest rates and the lack of economic recovery.

Alternative solutions to the crisis and the Bank of Japan's refusal to implement them.