Korean shopkeepers, Indian bankers, emasculated Wall Street survivors – the roll-call of those courting the Japanese yen is arguably longer than the list of critics who oozed vitriol last time the country splashed its cash overseas.
That was the late 1980s and early 1990s, when art lovers griped as Van Gough paintings were spirited away by nouveau riche Japanese; and Americans choked at Hollywood studios passing into Japanese hands.
