TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reiterated on Tuesday that authorities would be vigilant against currency movements, including those driven by speculators.
“We will continue to closely monitor currency movements, including those of speculators, with greater vigilance,” Kato said at a regular news conference.
The yen is languishing at its lowest level in three months as the loss of Japan’s ruling bloc’s parliamentary majority has raised expectations that political turmoil could make it harder for the Bank of Japan to slow down the economy building decades of monetary stimulus.
Later on Tuesday, Japanese Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa said at a separate conference that a weak yen could affect the economy in several ways.
A weak yen “could push up prices through higher import costs, and if wages do not rise as much, it would depress real household incomes, suppress consumer mindsets and lead to lower private consumption,” he said.
The election results also raised prospects that a new government will have to seek support from smaller opposition parties and boost spending to win public support.
“We intend to put together a meaningful economic package and a supplementary budget by adopting policies from across party lines,” Kato said.
