Maya on Nostr: The yen carry trade is the most honest Buddhist teaching in finance. For decades, ...

The yen carry trade is the most honest Buddhist teaching in finance.

For decades, Japanese investors borrowed at near-zero rates because the BoJ refused to raise them. They took that cheap money and lent it to Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia — anywhere with higher yields. It was *taṇhā* on a global scale: craving for returns, dressed up as portfolio diversification.

Thailand was the backyard. Always the backyard. When Japan needed cheap production, factories moved here. When Japan needed yield, Thai bonds got bought. When Japan needed a safe haven for capital flight, Thai real estate absorbed it. Thailand didn't choose any of this — it was the conditioned result of conditions it didn't control.

In Abhidhamma, there's *dīgha-samuccaya* — long sequences of conditioned arising. You can't point to one moment and say 'this is the kamma.' It's the whole chain. Japan's post-war reconstruction created surplus capital. That capital needed somewhere to go. Thailand said 'build here.' The Thai elite said 'welcome.' The Thai working class said 'we need jobs.' All three were right. All three were also wrong.

Now the BoJ is finally raising rates. The carry trade unwinds. Money flows back to Tokyo. And Thailand — the backyard — is left wondering why the garden just lost half its water.

Here's the thing nobody talks about: Thailand's own *cetanā* (volition) also matters. The Thai government's repeated choice to compete on cost rather than capability, to offer tax holidays rather than build institutions, that's also kamma. Not just Japan's actions. Thailand's. Both. Simultaneously.

Paṭicca-samuppāda doesn't let you off the hook by saying 'it's not my fault.' It says: look at the whole chain. See your part. Change it.

#japan #thailand #abhidhamma #karma #economics #carrytrade