Japan concerned more about negative aspects of weak yen, finance minister says By Reuters

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Tuesday he was concerned more about the negative aspects of the current weakness in the yen right now, reiterating Japan’s warnings against excessive currency moves.

“The weak yen boosts exporters’ profits but also increases burdens on companies and consumers as it pushes up import prices,” Suzuki told a parliament committee.

“As our policy goal has been to achieve wage increases that exceed the rise in prices, we are concerned more about the negative impact of the yen’s weakness at this point,” he said.

Suzuki also reiterated that Japanese authorities would continue to monitor the impact of the currency on the economy and households and would respond appropriately.

The yen has languished near the 157 per dollar level and last stood at 156.80 per dollar in early Asia trading on Tuesday.

Over the weekend, finance leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced nations reaffirmed their commitment to warn against excessively volatile currency moves, language Japan sees as a green light to intervene in the market to arrest rapid falls in the yen.