In fact, this sharp rise in the yen is one of the key factors leading to the building and then bursting of Japan's bubble economy in the late 1980s, a period that was followed by over two decades of economic stagnation and price deflation.

While the yen's strength benefited Japanese tourists and companies conducting M&A in the United States, it was disadvantageous for Japanese exporters who wanted to sell their goods to American consumers.

The companies have enjoyed greater stability by becoming less vulnerable to the downsides of exchange rate movements, but the strength of the overall domestic economy going forward is more tumultuous.

This shift has hit Japanese employment and consumption, even impacting companies outside manufacturing or those that are entirely domestically-based.

The Plaza Accord led to a period of exchange rate volatility that has contributed to Japan's manufacturing industry shifting from a focus on domestic production and exports to large scale overseas production.

The Japanese yen has see-sawed in the last 35 years, particularly in the first decade after the 1985 Plaza Accord, in which a deal was made to devalue the U.S.

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Average exchange rate usd to cad 2012