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| Above, a food market at the Tokyo Skytree. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Despite price hikes at some restaurants, hotels and, coming this fall, the price of Japan Rail Passes, the dollar is seeing the best purchasing power in Japan in years.
As good as this is for American and other foreign travelers, it may not be good for the financial health of Japan itself.
According to the Mainichi Shimbun:
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The yen's recent weakening may not be as rapid as last year when it lost around 20 percent of its value relative to the U.S. dollar, but the prospect of it staying longer at current levels is already a cause for alarm for Japan Inc. and consumers.
The yen is in the 143 zone to the U.S. dollar, far from around 130 that major Japanese firms expect the currency pair to average in the current business year to next March. The euro has also hit a 15-year high versus the yen near 157.
While Japanese authorities say they are closely monitoring forex developments due to the importance of stable currency moves that reflect economic fundamentals, the yen's recent weakness is largely due to the divergence of monetary policies between Japan and its peers in the United States and Europe.
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