Samsonite International SA, the world's largest branded-luggage maker, plans to raise prices in Japan by as much as 12 percent as a weaker yen cuts the dollar value of sales in the country.

The increase starts April 1, Ramesh Tainwala, president for Asia-Pacific and Middle East, told reporters in Hong Kong this week.

The luggage maker joins international companies including LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA and Tiffany & Co. in increasing prices in response to the yen's 18 percent drop against the dollar over the past six months. The yen has depreciated as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talked down the value of the currency, promising to implement policies to stimulate the economy and have Japan's central bank set a 2 percent inflation target.