INTERVIEW: Keidanren Chief Concerned over Yen’s Decline

Tokyo, Jan. 3 (Jiji Press)–Top Japanese business leader Yoshinobu Tsutsui has sounded cautious about the yen’s depreciation against other major currencies while expecting Japan’s economy to follow “a moderate upward trajectory” this year. “Exchange rates reflect the strength of a nation,” Tsutsui, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, the country’s biggest business lobby, said in an interview with media organizations including Jiji Press, urging the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan to take measures to address the yen’s fall. “There is a tendency to emphasize the advantages of a weak yen,” such as higher profits for exporters, but “it would be better for the yen to strengthen for the future of the country,” given Japan’s national strength, he said, adding that both sudden fluctuations and a gradual weakening of the yen are undesirable. “The momentum of pay hikes has been strong for the past three years or so, but real wages have not turned higher due to rising prices, including for food,” he said. It is highly likely that real wages will turn up this year as prices stabilize, Tsutsui said, adding, “We will play a leading role in having the wage hike momentum take root.” Tsutsui voiced his hope that the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who advocates a “responsible and proactive” fiscal policy, will take measures to “create a strong economy.” At the same time, the Keidanren chief stressed that the government needs to “repeatedly and concretely communicate how it will address the issue of fiscal consolidation,” calling for thorough dialogue with financial markets. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]