A weak yen typically serves as a boon to the export-driven Japanese economy. But when combined with surging crude oil and raw material prices, it leaves the economy facing a double-whammy that is set to crimp the economic recovery from the pandemic.
The yen's recent slip to a nearly four-year low against the U.S. dollar coupled with a surge in U.S. oil prices to a seven-year high threatens to cut into household spending even as it still feels the impact of COVID-19.
The combination is also set to make even more apparent the divergence between companies that have enjoyed a recovery from the pandemic fallout and those that have not, economists say.