Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said in an interview published yesterday that the government’s intervention in currency markets to stem the yen’s surge was the “appropriate decision.”
In an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, Shirakawa defended Japan’s currency intervention last week to stem the yen’s surge against the dollar to 15-year highs.
“It was an appropriate decision given the situation surrounding the economy. We support the government’s stance,” he said.
DOWNSIDE RISK
Japan’s central bank will continue to supply funds to the markets, he added, warning of a downside risk to the nation’s fragile economic recovery.
“We will supply ample funds, including funds for currency intervention. This stance will remain unchanged in the future,” Shirakawa said.
Japan stepped into the currency markets on Sept. 15 for the first time since 2004 in a bid to stem a strong yen after it hit a fresh 15-year high against the dollar of ¥82.86.
The move drew criticism from some politicians in Europe and the US, but the government has repeatedly said it was ready to act again in currency markets if necessary.
DRASTIC CHANGE
“If there is a drastic change [in the currency], such intervention is unavoidable,” Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said in an interview with the Financial Times published yesterday
Kan told the newspaper that there was a “common recognition” among G20 nations that overly rapid currency movements were undesirable and that he would seek to promote understanding of Japan’s action in New York.
He was heading to New York yesterday to attend the UN General Assembly.
A strong yen puts Japanese exporters at a disadvantage because it erodes their repatriated earnings and competitiveness, in turn threatening the nation’s fragile growth.
“Uncertainty over the outlook [of the global economy] is increasing more than ever,” Shirakawa said, highlighting weak US economic data for last month.
“We need to be aware of the downside risk” to the Japanese economy such as deterioration “in exports, corporate earnings and business sentiment,” he added.
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’