--Japan MOF's Miyazawa says watching FX markets closely
--Japan's Miyazawa: Unclear if dlr/yen strengthening temporary
--Japan MOF Miyazawa: Euro strength not main cause of weak yen
By Stephen Cannon, BridgeNews
Tokyo--Jan. 16--Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa said Tuesday that he needs to watch foreign exchange market movements a little longer to discern if the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar against the yen is merely temporary or not. Miyazawa added that recent dollar/yen moves aren't disruptive, even as the dollar/yen cleared the 119.35 mark for an 18-month high Monday.
* * * "Foreign exchange wasn't an issue for almost all of last year. I don't see foreign exchange moves as disruptive to financial markets. I'm watching markets carefully every day on the board in my office," Miyazawa said in a regular press conference.
Miyazawa added that he doesn't think that the recent strengthening in the euro is a major factor in the weakening of the yen.
Turning to the politicians in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), of which Miyazawa is a member, on the issue of deliberating on measures to boost Japan's sagging stock market, Miyazawa said, "I hear that they are discussing measures to improve the system (of stock trading). It's good for them to talk about such things," Miyazawa said.
However, Miyazawa ducked the issue of the dominant LDP proposing using public funds to boost the stock market, saying, "I don't know what they have in mind to do with public funds. Until I hear precisely what the proposal is, I don't know."
The government has in the past used public funds from postal deposits and postal insurance to buy key government shares as a measure to boost stock market levels. Economists frequently criticize this kind of measure arguing that it distorts the market to artificially prop up stock levels. On Thursday last week the Nikkei fell 231.58 points, or 1.7%, to 13,201.07, its lowest close since October 1998, influenced by strong concerns over the near-term outlook of local equities and pessimism stemming from the sharp fall in Yahoo! shares in after-hours trading. Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori called for measures to stimulate Japan's stock market over the weekend, during a visit to Athens, Greece according to domestic media reports.
The dollar/yen traded at 118.51 at 1117 JT. End
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