Mrs. Watanabe

From Mrs. + Watanabe, from Japanese 渡(わたな)辺(べ) (Watanabe, a common surname).

Mrs. Watanabe

1. A personification of the Japanese housewife speculators, who are strong enough to affect international markets, especially foreign exchange markets.
   • 2009 June 27, “The return of 'Mrs Watanabe'”, in Asia Times‎, archived from the original on 26 October 2009:

     Mrs Watanabe, the market’s metaphor for Japan’s housewife yen speculators, has come back to life.

   • 2009 March 26, “Wide girls”, in Economist‎:

     Mrs Watanabe is tiptoeing back into Japan’s stockmarket

   • 2013 August 9, Anjani Trivedi, “Handbags and Champagne: Japan’s Young Forex Divas Make Their Mark”, in Time‎:

     Mrs. Watanabe is back. Housewife investors were a feature of the Japanese financial landscape during the prolonged recession of the 1990s.