[A-List] Japan Government holdings of US Treasuries

[Bill Totten]

Michael, I think you told me in the past that when Toyota, Panasonic,
Sony and other Japanese corporations sell products in the USA for US
dollars, they take the US dollars to the Bank of Japan to have them
converted into yen.

Correct?

If so, when the value of the dollar is falling relative to the yen, as
now, then the Bank of Japan (aka Japanese taxpayers) get stuck with the
losses? That is, Japanese taxpayers are subsidizing exports of Japanese
multinationals.

Correct?

If so, why can't the Bank of Japan refuse to buy those US dollars? Or
why can't it charge a fee, such as the percentage decline in the dollar
over the past twelve months, for buying US dollars from Japanese exporters?

For example, since the dollar has fallen seventeen percent against the
yen over since January 2008, why cannot the Bank of Japan charge
Japanese exporters a seventeen percent premium for converting their
excess dollars into yen?  That is, why can't the BOJ pay the current yen
value of 83 US dollars for each 100 US dollars Japanese exporters want
to convert into yen. That is, why can't it force the exporters
themselves, instead of all Japanese taxpayers, to suffer the losses of
selling their products in declining dollars?

Thanks, Bill