TOKYO (MNI) – Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Motohisa Furukawa
said on Tuesday that the government will keep a close watch on foreign
exchange rates while taking measures to transform Japan’s economy into a
structure that can withstand the drag from the yen’s rise.
“It is always necessary to closely monitor developments in the
foreign exchange market,” he told reporters after the government
announced a package of measures to counter the strong yen.
By boosting subsidies and loans, the government will seek to
maintain employment at firms hit hardest by the yen’s rise and keep
factories in Japan as the strong yen is prompting manufacturers to move
their operations overseas.
It will also support moves to save energy and switch to renewable
energy sources, which should help firms better cope with power supply
shortages caused by the March earthquake disaster.
Tomoko Hayashi, a Cabinet Office official responsible for drafting
the package, said many of the measures announced today will be financed
by a third supplementary budget for this fiscal year.
The government will detail how each measure is estimated to boost
the economy in the final version of the package to be released in coming
days, she said.
Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa attended an economic
ministers’ meeting as an observer on Tuesday, but he made no comment on
the measures countering the strong yen, according to another Cabinet
Office official.
tokyo@marketnews.com
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