None of Japan's major companies see the yen's recent rapid fall as positive for the domestic economy, even as the currency's weakening typically benefits its export-oriented economic structure, a survey showed Monday.
In a Kyodo News survey covering 125 companies, of which 109 such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Softbank Group Corp. gave valid answers, 31 percent said the yen's recent slide was negative and 36 percent said it was neither positive nor negative.
The Japanese currency has lost around 15 yen or 12 percent since early March to 20-year lows against the U.S. dollar. A weaker yen boosts profits earned overseas when translated back into yen and makes Japan-made products more price competitive abroad.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda maintains his view that the positive effect of a weak yen outweighs the negative for the world's third-largest economy. The central bank continues its easy monetary policy to achieve its 2 percent inflation goal, a move that could weaken the yen further.
But the yen's drop only adds to worries that it could pressure businesses and households in resource-poor Japan through higher import costs of energy and other commodities.
The poll found 37 percent said the current yen's sharp fall will have a positive impact on their earnings with the benefits for their businesses outside Japan, outstripping 26 percent that said it will have a negative impact with higher raw material and energy costs. Some 28 percent said they have seen neither a positive nor a negative impact.
In a question about a desirable exchange range for the yen against the dollar, about half of the respondents to the question chose a zone between 110 and 115, compared with the current levels around 130.
The survey was conducted between April 18 and Thursday when the yen was traded near 130. The respondents also include ANA Holdings Inc., East Japan Railway Co., and Suntory Holdings Ltd.
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