After the crisis began, raising doubts about the soundness of American and European banks and the ability of governments to stand behind them, the tide of money reversed.  Japan, with its huge security cushion of domestic savers, became a haven for investors, driving the yen up. 

The yen hit a postwar high of about 76 to the dollar in February and today remains not far from that level, trading Wednesday around 78 to the dollar.  It would not be easy to reverse the value of Japan’s currency; worldwide macroeconomic trends currently favor a strong yen.  Nor are most experts suggesting that consideration of the elderly is the only cause of political paralysis over how to revitalize the economy. 

But breaking that stalemate is becoming harder as the elderly’s political clout grows.  Even some retirees reveling in the benefits of the government’s inaction see the long-term quandary. 

Shigeru Ono, a retired oil company manager who won a small following blogging on deflation’s virtues, can tick off the strong yen’s advantages, including lower prices for shirts made in Vietnam and the Chinese flat-screen television he bought recently.  He is also clear on the perils. 

“The strong yen and deflation have been a boon for us baby boomers,” said Mr. Ono, 62, who is living on limited savings and a fixed monthly pension of 130,000 yen, or about $1,660. “ But I also know that they cannot be good for my son’s generation.” 

The office of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has defended the government’s handling of the currency, not only by presenting its new plan, but also by pointing out that companies have been offered $6 billion in subsidies to help them move into higher-end products less affected by competition from other Asian exporters. 

The Finance Ministry, meanwhile, has taken small steps to drive down the yen by buying a total of $200 billion worth of United States currency during the last two years.  But officials said its efforts were never intended to do more than blunt surges driven by speculators.