Business leaders hope BOJ's rate cut will stem strong yen+

TOKYO, Dec. 19 Kyodo -
Business leaders are hoping the Bank of Japan's interest rate cut Friday will
stem the sharp appreciation of the yen against the U.S. dollar, which is
hurting the nation's exporters such as automakers.
Tadashi Okamura, chairman of the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said
in a statement Friday, ''We welcome a prompt interest rate reduction at a time
when the yen is rapidly appreciating.''
Etsuhiko Shoyama, chairman of Hitachi Ltd., told a news conference, ''I expect
the currency market to move in a direction that evaluates the yen
appropriately,'' indicating that the BOJ rate cut should help reverse the
recent trend of a strong yen versus the dollar and other currencies.
Business circles also voiced hope that the central bank's fresh steps to boost
liquidity in money markets will improve the state of corporate fundraising.
Fujio Mitarai, chairman of the Japan Business Federation known as Nippon
Keidanren, said in a statement, ''We hail the fact that it (the BOJ) took bold
additional steps to facilitate corporate fundraising.''
Hiromasa Yonekura, president of Sumitomo Chemical Co., told reporters that the
BOJ's move to purchase commercial paper, or corporate short-term debt, will
''help facilitate fundraising by small and midsize companies.''
The BOJ slashed the key interest rate to 0.1 percent from 0.3 percent at a
two-day policy meeting through Friday in the second credit easing in three
months.
==Kyodo