If Japanese policymakers could name one maddening barrier to the country's economic renewal, chances are a number of them would cite the yen. A strong yen [JPY=X 81.18 -0.08 (-0.1%) ] has hobbled Japan's efforts to return to strong growth through exports, and it is crimping corporate profits in electronics and other industries. But nothing has successfully brought the currency down for long: not jawboning, not low interest rates, not even active market intervention. The yen has remained frozen in strength. Until now. When Shinzo Abe, leader of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, last week called for aggressive ... (full story)