Relative economic strength explains why the Japanese yen failed to develop into an IVC, and why Tokyo – whose financial markets satisfied the relevant requirements – failed to become a 1-IFC. With its GDP reaching only about 60% of America’s at its peak in 1991, Japan never attained the critical mass required to induce foreigners to use the yen to lower transaction costs.
相对经济强势解释了为何日元没有发展成为IVC，以及东京——其金融市场已满足相关条件——没有能够成为1-IFC。在1991年的最高峰，日本GDP只有美国的60%，因此日本从未达到过促使外国人使用日元来降低交易成本的临界值。