Weak yen is becoming a politically tricky issue in Japan

Japan's Masato Kanda is out with some comments on the yen to Reuters:

• There are both positive and negative effects of a weak yen, it's hard to say which is bigger
• Weak yen pushed up the import cost of energy and food, increasing household burdens
• The value of a weak yen for exporters isn't as strong as in the past because they're not competing on low-cost items on price
• We need to guide policy and understand that the way the exchange rate affects the economy has changed

This could be an early sign of a regime change in Japanese thinking on the currency but we're still about 10 more steps away from that. It's an interesting theme to keep an eye on and will get much more interesting if Japan ever experiences inflation.

Kanda is the vice finance minister for international affairs.