By Takaya Yamaguchi and Makiko Yamazaki
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura said on Tuesday a weak yen would push up inflation by boosting import costs, stressing the need to underpin consumption by turning real wages to positive territory.
“The outlook of real wage is very important. From our perspective, a weak yen would work to push up inflation through higher import costs,” Mimura, vice finance minister for international affairs, said at a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event.
When asked about the Bank of Japan’s policy-setting meeting this week, Mimura said the government and the central bank were communicating closely every day through various channels.
“I has been conveying my views to them. The BOJ is also likely gathering various information including on markets and the annual wage negotiations,” he said.
The BOJ is expected to raise interest rates on Friday barring any market shocks from new U.S. President Donald Trump, sources have told Reuters, a move that would lift short-term borrowing costs to levels unseen since the 2008 global financial crisis.
(Reporting by Takaya Yamaguchi, Makiko Yamazaki and Leika Kihara; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Kate Mayberry)
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