The Weaker Yen Fails to Lift All Boats
Small companies are still waiting for consumers to spend
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sees his victory in the December elections as an endorsement of his economic policies, especially his drive to weaken the yen to help exports. The weaker yen is already helping the nation’s biggest companies get richer; it will also fuel a rise in bankruptcies among smaller ones.
Toyota Motor and Honda Motor are expected to post record profits in 2014 as the weaker yen boosted earnings from overseas. The aggregate net income at 196 of Japan’s largest listed companies will reach a record 18 trillion yen ($149 billion) this fiscal year, based on analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.