Japanese exporters struggle with strong yen

The US and China’s failure to reach a currency agreement at the November G-20 meeting in Seoul, combined with a rampant yen, has put most Japanese exporters at a significant competitive disadvantage. The strength of the yen is destroying corporate earnings and hedging options appear limited. What is the next step for Japanese exporters? Rahul Jhaveri reports

Efforts by Japan’s resilient corporates to turn around their income statements through product development and alternative management strategies have amounted to little during the past year. Their failure is largely due to one factor: the rampant strength of the yen. Most Japanese companies warned that – as a worst-case scenario – a ¥90 to the dollar exchange rate would impact their earnings hard. But, with a US dollar/yen rate of 83 on December 7, the actual exchange rate has surpassed even the