TOKYO (MNI) – Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda will hold a
news conference at 1130 JST (0230 GMT) on Wednesday to discuss the
government’s measures to cope with the recent rapid rise in the yen “for
the time being,” a ministry official said.
The dollar is stable around Y76.80 against the yen today, partly
due to jitters Japanese authorities may intervene in the forex market,
after the Japanese currency hit a new high of Y75.95 against the dollar
on Friday.
Cabinet ministers have said the government will include measures to
help shield the economy from the adverse effect of the yen’s rise in the
third supplementary budget for rebuilding the northeastern regions hit
by the March earthquake disaster.
But Noda could announce stop-gap programs by using reserves for the
current fiscal year.
In the past, Japan has put together extra budgets to provide
emergency financial aid to small businesses — including subcontractors
of major automobile, electronics and machinery makers — in order to
keep them afloat as the high yen threatened to erode their profits.
Noda has repeatedly said the government is closely watching the
forex market and will take “decisive action” when it’s necessary,
hinting at yen-selling intervention, with or without backing from the
other members of the Group of Seven major economies.
Japan last intervened to sell yen for the dollar on Aug. 4,
followed by additional credit easing measures by the Bank of Japan on
the same day.
tokyo@marketnews.com
** Market News International Tokyo Newsroom: 81-3-5403-4833 **
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