Japanese PM: Weak yen is good for exports but raises corporate costs

12 Oct 2021 10:41 AM

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday that a weak yen helps lift exports, but also increases costs for businesses by increasing import prices.

"We will closely monitor the impact of currency movements on the Japanese economy," Kishida told parliament when asked by an opposition member how the government would respond to the excessive declines in the yen.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party today revealed its October 31 election manifesto with a focus on ending the coronavirus pandemic, promising to rebuild the middle class and defend against China.

Opinion polls show the party's leader, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, enjoying a reasonable level of popular support a week after taking the stage, which bodes well for his goal of maintaining a majority in the House of Representatives for the LDP and its coalition partner, the Komeito Party.

In its statement, the LDP said it would expand its support for small and medium-sized businesses affected by the pandemic and provide subsidies to businesses if they moved into new industries.

Kishida, the former foreign minister, has an approval rating of 49%, according to a poll published by state broadcaster NHK late Monday. This is less than the approval enjoyed by some of his predecessors at the beginning of their tenure, but support for the Kishida government has been higher than the most recent assessments of his predecessor, Yoshihide Suga.

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