None of Japan’s major companies see the yen’s recent rapid fall as positive for the domestic economy, even as the currency’s weakening typically benefits its export-oriented economic structure, a survey showed Monday.
In a Kyodo News survey covering 125 companies, of which 109 such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Softbank Group Corp. gave valid answers, 31% said the yen’s recent slide was negative and 36% said it was neither positive nor negative.
The Japanese currency has lost around ¥15, or 12%, against the U.S. dollar since early March to hit 20-year lows. A weaker yen boosts profits earned overseas when translated back into yen and makes Japan-made products more price competitive abroad.
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda maintains his view that the positive effect of a weak yen outweighs the negatives for the world’s third-largest economy. The central bank continues its easy monetary policy to achieve its 2% inflation goal, a move that could weaken the yen further.
But the yen’s drop only adds to worries that it could pressure businesses and households in resource-poor Japan through higher import costs for energy and other commodities.
The poll found 37% said the yen’s current sharp fall will have a positive impact on their earnings due to the benefits for their businesses outside Japan, outstripping 26% that said it will have a negative impact because of higher raw material and energy costs. Some 28% said they have seen neither a positive nor a negative impact.
In a question about a desirable exchange range for the yen against the dollar, about half of the respondents chose a zone between ¥110 and ¥115, compared with the current levels around ¥130.
The survey was conducted between April 18 and Thursday, when the yen was trading near ¥130.
The respondents also included ANA Holdings Inc., East Japan Railway Co., and Suntory Holdings Ltd.
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