Mrs. Watanabe
Mrs. Watanabe, also known as Kimono Trader,[1] is a term that gained prominence in the early 2000s, representing a stereotype associated with Japanese retail currency-market traders. These individuals became notable for their active participation in currency trading (Forex), which had a significant impact on global currency markets and garnered attention on a worldwide scale.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
The term Mrs. Watanabe was used as early as the 1980s, although a 1997 reference in The Economist became well-known.[8][9] Watanabe (渡辺) is a common surname in Japan, but not the most common.[8][10] Despite the "Mrs." honorific, about 85% of the retail currency traders in Japan as of 2019 are male, mostly in their 30s, 40s and 50s.[11] Gearoid Reidy of Bloomberg News concluded after research that "Mrs. Watanabe"'s meaning changed over time from a Japanese equivalent of Joe Sixpack or Joe Bloggs to specifically referring to FX traders.[8]
Due to the low interest rates in Japan, traders can borrow a large quantity of yen with a margin account, and use it to buy currencies from economies where interest rates are much higher (e.g. Turkish lira, Mexican peso, and South African rand),[11] a carry trade.
References
[edit]- ^ "着物トレーダー". ifinance.ne.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "Mrs. Watanabe had a change of heart in 2022: Bank of Japan report". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ "Mrs. Watanabe - Japanese Housewife Who Beat the Forex Market". FXCL Markets Ltd. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ "Fortune Seekers | Planet Finance (3/6)". 12 August 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "How Japanese Housewives Outsmarted Global Finance (Documentary)". 29 July 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ Harjani, Ansuya (27 June 2014). "Finally, Mrs Watanabe loosens her purse strings". CNBC. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ "The fabled Mrs Watanabe of Japan and a few lessons to take from her". The New Indian Express. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
- ^ a b c Reidy, Gearoid (27 May 2024). "My Search for the Original Mrs. Watanabe". Bloomberg. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Mrs Watanabe, mind your fingers". The Economist. 27 March 1997. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024.
- ^ Watanabe is the 6th common surname, see ja:姓#日本_2.
- ^ a b Hodo, Chikafumi; Sakai, Daisuke; Miura, Kazumi (18 September 2019). "An Army of Japanese Salarymen Is Rocking Global Currency Markets". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 18 September 2019.
 | This economics-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |