RTRS-JAPAN MOFâS IKEDA: THINK BOJ SHOULD ADOPT INFLATION TARGETTING RTRS-JAPAN MOFâS IKEDA: WILL TAKE DECISIVE STEPS AGAINST RAPID CURRENCY MOVES RTRS-Japanâs Ikeda: ready to act against rapid yen rise RTRS-JAPAN MOFâS IKEDA: BOJ SHOULD NOT RULE OUT INTEREST RATE CUT TO ZERO PCT
(Reuters) - Japanese currency intervention may gain some understanding in the global community if it is aimed at curbing yen gains driven by factors Tokyo cannot control, a former Bank of Japan board member said. Japan needs to get serious about stemming sharp yen gains, which hurt the economy by prompting companies to shift jobs and capital spending overseas, and act on its words when it warns of intervention, Atsushi Mizuno said on Tuesday. "I know some people think Japanese intervention won't be able to gain the understanding of its counterparts, and that solo intervention won't work. Some also say intervention without the backing of monetary easing won't work," Mizuno said. "It's true intervention aimed at directly pushing up (the dollar/yen rate) won't gain understanding. But the yen's current rise is driven by the outlook for the U.S. economy and passive intervention, or intervention to deal with something Japan cannot control, may gain a certain level of understanding," he told Reuters in an interview. Mizuno, who sat on the BOJ board until last December, is currently vice chairman of Credit Suisse's fixed-income business in the Asia-Pacific region. Japanese policymakers have tried to talk down the yen and signaled the chance of intervention after the yen hit a 15-year high against the dollar last week. Mizuno, who was a prominent bond strategist before sitting on the BOJ board, said Tokyo needed to send a clear message to the market promptly if it cannot tolerate current yen rises. CLEAR MESSAGE "It's important for the government to express concern over the yen's rise," he said. "It's also counterproductive to say it will intervene, but not act on its words. The government needs to be strategic when communicating with the market on foreign exchange. But it also needs to be bold when necessary." http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67U13E20100831 I suggest we replace Mizuno for Shirakawa. Problem solved.