The low cost of living in Japan (from an international perspective) -- has had a sobering impact on me.

This would be a good thing for attracting international tourists due to in-band demand.

However, as you know, Japan, a major energy importer, has been hit hard.

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I have told you several times that about 30 years ago, I was wandering alone in Asia.

Despite the problems of undeveloped infrastructure, unclean environment, and language barriers, Asia was my spiritual home.

In particular, China (the mainland) was "my heart and soul".

"If I get sick of everything, I'll run away to mainland China and live off my sister's monthly remittance of 5,000 yen."

At that time, China was such a "cheap country" that one could afford to stay, eat, and drink for a month or so with as little as \5,000.

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Now, "my heart and soul" is breaking down at a terrific rate.

Japan has gone from being the second-largest economy to possibly falling out of the ranks in my lifetime.

The fact that my "unearned income strategy using the exchange rate difference" has completely fallen apart, and there is no longer any way out is now hurting me.

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I want to write about the past and present of this "unearned income strategy using the difference in exchange rates" in the "Engineers Unloved by Money" series -- but I don't have time for that right now.