An FT article notes that "on April 30, for....>

FOREX: An FT article notes that "on April 30, for the first time in more than

two centuries, the Japanese Emperor will abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne. On

the following day, his oldest son will accede to the longest unbroken monarchy

on Earth. Around that time, say currency traders, there could well be a "flash

crash" in the yen. The envisaged currency ructions arise from the way that Japan

has chosen to celebrate its imperial transition: with an unprecedented 10

consecutive days of "Golden Week" holidays during which the equity and bond

markets (and banks and brokerages) will be closed. The yen, though, will

continue to be traded with what will surely be much lower liquidity, higher

volatility, the greater potential influence of algorithmic trading and the

credible risk of a repeat of January 3 this year when similar holiday trading

conditions allowed the currency to spike madly against the US and Aussie

dollars. The threat of a Golden Week flash crash is now firmly on the radars of

market analysts as they assemble predictions for the March to April phase of the

Japanese financial year."