eli5: How is Japan’s currency so weak if it’s a economic superpower?
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I think you are confusing the denomination with its strength. It does not matter what the actual numbers that are printed on the bank notes say. A currency is strong if people want to buy it. This is again due to a strong economy with more exports then imports, which is why people want to buy the currency so they can buy products in that country for export.
Most currency started as a fixed weight of gold or silver. But exactly how much varied a lot. For example the US dollar was initially based on the Pesos which was an 8th of a Spanish gold mark. So right at the start a single Spanish mark could buy you eight dollars even though the currencies were literally the same strength as they had the same gold weight.
When currencies got off the gold or silver standard they were subject to inflation. This causes the currency to weaken as the value drops. But after the inflation the currency can stabilize at the new value and even become stronger. In the case of Japan there were some inflation at the end of the 1800s which caused the Yen to drop to $0.30 but then stabilized at that value as the Japanese economy improved. Then during WWII there were a new era of inflation which brought its value to $0.003. But after the war the inflation was stopped and the yen have been on average stronger then the dollar. So it is currently at $0.01 which is quite strong compared to how other currencies have developed.
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