Japan's Kiuchi says must stay alert to economic effects from Middle East conflict
Japan's Economy Minister, Minoru Kiuchi, said on Tuesday that the government will respond swiftly while monitoring the economic impact of the Middle East conflict and price hikes on households and businesses.
Key quotes
See strong momentum in this year's wage negotiations, improvements in job conditions.
Effect of government steps likely to underpin moderate economic recovery.
Must be vigilant to impact on economy from Middle East conflict.
Government will act nimbly while keeping close eye out on economic fallout from Middle East conflict, effect of price rises on households and business activity.
Important to ensure market trust in Japan's finances, will keep close watch on daily market moves.
Administration's stance is to appropriate in annual budget any permanent spending measures, won't rule out extra budget to fund emergency, necessary measures.
Japanese Yen FAQs
The Japanese Yen (JPY) is one of the world’s most traded currencies. Its value is broadly determined by the performance of the Japanese economy, but more specifically by the Bank of Japan’s policy, the differential between Japanese and US bond yields, or risk sentiment among traders, among other factors.
One of the Bank of Japan’s mandates is currency control, so its moves are key for the Yen. The BoJ has directly intervened in currency markets sometimes, generally to lower the value of the Yen, although it refrains from doing it often due to political concerns of its main trading partners. The BoJ ultra-loose monetary policy between 2013 and 2024 caused the Yen to depreciate against its main currency peers due to an increasing policy divergence between the Bank of Japan and other main central banks. More recently, the gradually unwinding of this ultra-loose policy has given some support to the Yen.
Over the last decade, the BoJ’s stance of sticking to ultra-loose monetary policy has led to a widening policy divergence with other central banks, particularly with the US Federal Reserve. This supported a widening of the differential between the 10-year US and Japanese bonds, which favored the US Dollar against the Japanese Yen. The BoJ decision in 2024 to gradually abandon the ultra-loose policy, coupled with interest-rate cuts in other major central banks, is narrowing this differential.
The Japanese Yen is often seen as a safe-haven investment. This means that in times of market stress, investors are more likely to put their money in the Japanese currency due to its supposed reliability and stability. Turbulent times are likely to strengthen the Yen’s value against other currencies seen as more risky to invest in.
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