Executives from major Japanese companies, including Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Inpex, have expressed their desire for a stronger yen, despite benefiting from its current weakness.
Yoshinori Kanehana, chairman of Kawasaki, indicated that a yen exchange rate of 150 could prompt the company to relocate manufacturing from the U.S. back to Japan, highlighting the challenges posed by currency fluctuations on strategic planning.
Inpex's CEO, Takayuki Ueda, noted that while the company benefits from converting dollar profits into yen, he believes the current exchange rate is too weak for the overall Japanese economy. The yen has recently strengthened but remains weak historically, trading at 156.3 against the dollar. Mitsui O.S.K.
Lines' chairman, Takeshi Hashimoto, also called for a stable currency market, expressing comfort with a yen rate between 150-155. As Japanese businesses anticipate a Bank of Japan interest rate hike, the stakes for currency stability are high, with expectations for a more hawkish monetary policy that could influence future exchange rates