Japan loses its position as the world's #1 Forex market.

Two years of successive regulatory reductions in allowed leverage (now just 25:1) have taken their toll on the Japanese Forex market, knocking Japan out of first place in terms of volumes traded. The hit has been double-edged – lower leverage has reduced revenue-per-client at Forex firms operating in Japan by up to 20%, and has also caused many clients (up to 10%) to just abandon Forex trading altogether. The fact that the USDJPY pair has seen very little volatility, trading in a tight 76-78 band for the past six months, has not helped matters either.