政府・日銀協調 「次の一手」も視野に入れよ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Sep. 1, 2010)
BOJ should consider next step to curb high yen
政府・日銀協調　「次の一手」も視野に入れよ（8月31日付・読売社説）

The government and the Bank of Japan have finally begun working in a coordinated manner to stop the sharp appreciation of the yen.
　急激な円高に歯止めをかけようと、政府と日銀が、ようやく協調して動き始めた。

The central bank decided at an extraordinary Policy Board meeting Monday to take new steps for further quantitative monetary easing. It will increase lending to the market by 10 trillion yen, to a total of 30 trillion yen, at an extremely low interest rate of 0.1 percent a year.
　日銀が３０日、臨時の金融政策決定会合で、量的金融緩和の追加策を決めた。年０・１％の超低利による資金供給を１０兆円拡大し、総額３０兆円とする。

Also Monday, Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa met Prime Minister Naoto Kan in person to discuss the current state of the economy. Later in the day, the government decided on an outline of additional measures to create jobs and stimulate consumption. Kan stressed that the government will flexibly implement both economic and financial measures to deal with the slowdown in the economy.
　この日は、菅首相と白川方明日銀総裁が直接会い、経済情勢について協議した。政府も、雇用や消費の促進を柱とした追加経済対策の基本方針をまとめ、首相は「経済対策と金融政策を２本柱に機動的な対応を取る」と強調した。

In the meantime, we would like to praise the government and the Bank of Japan for working on economic policy in a coordinated manner.
　政府・日銀が、経済政策で足並みをそろえて行動したことを、ひとまず歓迎したい。

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Nothing unexpected

However, the content of the further monetary easing and other measures they announced did not go further than what might have been expected, and left more to be desired. We also have to say the government and the Bank of Japan took action rather late. They should implement policy management with a stronger sense of urgency.
　とはいえ、追加緩和などの内容自体は想定の域を超えず、物足りなかった。タイミングも遅きに失したと言わざるを得ない。政府・日銀は強い危機感を持って、政策運営にあたるべきだ。

Even after the central bank announced further monetary easing in the early afternoon, the yen's appreciation continued. The Nikkei Stock Average recovered to the 9,000 mark in the morning, on expectations for new financial steps, but trimmed earlier gains in afternoon trading.
　昼過ぎに追加緩和が発表された後も、為替市場で円高傾向が続いた。東京市場の平均株価は、朝から政策期待で９０００円台を回復していたが、午後の取引では逆に上昇幅が縮小した。

Many market players apparently doubt the central bank's commitment to further monetary easing. Certainly, there is a strong impression that the central bank has unwillingly implemented measures piecemeal under pressure from the government and the market.
　市場関係者の多くが、日銀の本気度を疑っているのだろう。確かに市場や政府にせっつかれ、政策を小出しにした印象が強い。

The central bank's measures also lost some of their impact because U.S. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke took the preemptive action last week of announcing that the U.S. central bank was ready for further monetary easing steps.
　先週末、米連邦準備制度理事会（ＦＲＢ）のバーナンキ議長が講演で、追加緩和の用意があると表明し、先手を打たれた形になったことも、効果をそいだ。

The market is now becoming more and more interested in what steps the Bank of Japan will take next. The central bank should consider the outright purchase of more long-term government bonds and other new monetary easing steps so that speculators will never again capitalize on its delay in taking action and the yen's appreciation will not accelerate as a result.
　もはや市場の関心は日銀の「次の一手」に向き始めている。対応の遅れを再び投機筋に突かれ、円高を加速させぬよう、長期国債の買い入れ増額など、新たな緩和策も視野に入れるべきだろう。

The strong yen eats into the profits of exporters and their subcontractors, such as parts manufacturers, dampening their enthusiasm for capital spending.
　円高は輸出企業や下請けの部品メーカーなどの利益を減らし、設備投資の意欲を冷え込ませる。

About 40 percent of manufacturing companies reportedly said they will move factories, and research and development centers from Japan to other countries if the yen stays at its current level of 85 yen to the dollar. We must not allow domestic industry to be hollowed out, thereby weakening the Japanese economy.
　仮に、１ドル＝８５円という現在の円高水準が定着すると、製造業の４割が、工場や開発拠点を海外に移転する考えだという。産業空洞化が日本経済を弱体化させる事態は、避けねばならない。

The government and the Bank of Japan must demonstrate their firm resolve not to allow the current level of the yen's appreciation by considering the option of yen-selling intervention in the exchange market.
　政府・日銀は、円売りの市場介入も選択肢に、現在の円高水準を容認しないとの決意を、断固として示すべきである。

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Watch political moves

The government also must pay attention to the influence of political developments on the market. Long-term interest rates last week temporarily rose sharply, caused by the market's concern that handout measures might increase in the near future, depending on the outcome of the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election in September.
　政治の動きが、市場に与える影響にも注意したい。先週来、民主党代表選の展開次第でバラマキ政策が増えるとの懸念から、長期金利が急上昇する場面があった。

The market is greatly influenced by a variety of factors. We expect the DPJ, as the major party in the ruling coalition, to listen carefully to voices of the market.
　市場はさまざまな要因で激しく動く。政権与党として、市場の声によく耳を傾けてもらいたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 31, 2010)
（2010年8月31日01時27分 読売新聞）