Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki signaled Friday that a weak yen is acceptable because it is a true reflection of the state of Japan's economy.
"Broadly speaking, the yen-dollar levels we see now are in line with economic fundamentals," Tanigaki told reporters in the morning, after the dollar reached its highest against the yen in over two years in overseas markets. It continued its climb in Tokyo and stood at 120 yen.65-68 at 5 p.m. — that despite the bellwether Nikkei stock average topping 15,000 for the first time in five years Thursday and analysts describing the economy as being in its best shape in more than a decade.
Kaoru Yosano, economic and fiscal policy minister, separately said the dollar's surge was not so much due to economic fundamentals as to the fact that long-term interest rates are significantly higher — and climbing — in the United States.