Knockout March — from Koshien [Kazu Morino?]
Mori Akira Profile
Economist. Affiliated with a think tank (United States). Specializes in exchange rate policy, monetary policy, macroeconomic policy, and financial regulation. Interacts with market participants, financial authorities, and policy makers to analyze foreign exchange trends from multiple perspectives.
Note: This article is a reprint and edit of an article from FX Strategy.com, September 2020 issue. Please note that the market information in the text may differ from the current market.
When I was little, I often went to watch high school baseball at Koshien. My grandfather lived in Hyogo Prefecture, and I, as an elementary school student, clearly remember enjoying watching high school baseball at Koshien.
Although I was not a baseball fanatic, I was a huge fan of PL Gakuen and greatly admired the KK (Kuwata/Kiyohara) duo. Watching the game at Koshien, with shaved ice in one hand and looking at the letters “PL” formed by people, the atmosphere was incredibly powerful. In particular, when I heard the “Knockout March” played when PL Gakuen was losing, my excitement rose, and I strongly believed they would turn the game around and I supported them.
As an adult, through my work in currency trading, I was introduced to former high school players who played for the PL Gakuen baseball team at Koshien. That person was humble, courteous, and a sincere, gentle gentleman. When I was about to leave Japan, he gave me a ball and said, “This is the ball Japanese Giants player Cromartie used for spring training. When things get tough, look at this ball and don’t give up.” Looking at the ball I received, I always think that I’m glad to be working in currency exchange.
Geological Shift in Remittance Methods
According to an article in the Nikkei last year, Ant Financial, which operates the mobile payment Alipay under Alibaba Group, began providing services in 2018 that allow overseas remittances for free by utilizing blockchain technology.
As a result, Filipino domestic workers working in Hong Kong can remit to their home country for free. It also provided blockchain technology for overseas remittance from Malaysia to Pakistan. This made remittances from Pakistanis who came to Malaysia to work abroad to their home country free of charge.
