Former dep fin min Sakakibara, so called “Mr Yen” after he led the intervention in the 1990s in order to stem yen appreciation
- USDJPY likely to trade in a range of 106-111 for the time being
- further yen depreciation would be damaging to the economy
- weak yen does not boost exports the way it used to because firms have shifted more of their production abroad
- weak yen pushes up import costs of energy and food
If it weakens to 115-120 the negatives would outweigh the benefits and Japan would have to intervene
USDJPY currently a tad higher at 107.83 on general USD buying