Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Heizo Takenaka said Wednesday that he expects the Japanese economy to recover in the fall, helped by a faster-than-expected pickup in the U.S. economy.
At a lecture in New York, Takenaka also reiterated his stance favoring a weak yen, saying it reflects economic fundamentals in Japan.
Takenaka said that from talks held earlier this week in Washington with government officials, including Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, he realizes that the U.S. economy is recovering faster than expected and that this should help the Japanese economy recover in the latter half of fiscal 2002.
As for the recent surge of the dollar against the yen, Takenaka said there is no specific target level, but he thinks current levels are not far out of line with economic fundamentals.