-- Japan's trade minister Ryosei Akazawa said the Bank of Japan could tame inflation by boosting the yen, as the central bank considers a rate hike this month to counter price pressures from the Iran war, Reuters reported Monday, citing the official.
Akazawa - who serves as both Japan's top trade negotiator and head of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry- made these remarks on a television talk show in reply to an economist's argument that a stronger yen would ease the higher expenses of importing crude oil, the news wire said.
On the same NHK program, Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, stated that if the BOJ used policy to lift the yen by roughly 10% to 15%, it could curb price increases across the economy, including for food, which represents a large portion of household spending.
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