Despite the conventional belief that a weak yen is a blessing for the Japanese economy, headlines over the past several weeks have painted a very different picture.
Frustration over the yen¡¯s recent slide is growing among policymakers and in the business community, while some economists say the fall is hurting the nation¡¯s economy more than helping it.
During a parliamentary session on April 18, Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said it¡¯s not easy to state categorically that a weak yen is good or bad, because it has both merits and demerits. However, amid ongoing economic upheaval in which surging crude oil and other commodity prices are placing a burden on companies and households, ¡°I don¡¯t think we can call the current declining yen¡¯s value a good weak yen. It is rather a bad weak yen,¡± Suzuki said.
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