FOCUS: Yen`s spike becomes boon for some Japan firms, consumers+

TOKYO, Aug. 19 Kyodo -
A spike in the yen's value has invigorated some sectors of the Japanese
economy, such as retail and travel, with the currency recently strengthening to
a 15-year high and continuing to trade around the 85 yen range to the dollar.
The impact of the yen's surge is also visible in consumer behavior. Michio
Arioka, a 52-year-old corporate executive living in Amagasaki, Hyogo
Prefecture, returned to Narita airport near Tokyo on Tuesday from his summer
vacation in Hawaii with an armful of shopping bags. Many other Japanese
tourists returning from abroad did likewise.
''When I converted yen, I felt the wad of dollars (the moneychanger handed to
him) was quite large,'' says Arioka. ''I found it difficult to resist the urge
to splurge.''
Rie Ishibiki, 38, a company employee from Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, left for
the United States on Aug. 12 when the dollar briefly slid to 84 yen. Her
cellphone was swamped with text messages from her friends imploring her to buy
things for them during her trip.
''They asked me to buy handbags and jewelry that were more expensive than
things they usually ask for as souvenirs. I just hope that the yen will stay
strong until my credit card is charged,'' she said.
The yen's appreciation has also benefited the tourist industry.
Major travel agency JTB Corp. reports increases in turnover of more than 10
percent compared with a year earlier for July and August.
H.I.S. Co. also saw an 11 percent jump in sales to vacationers traveling this
summer. ''The yen's rise has become a psychological factor that spurred on our
customers to travel,'' said an official with H.I.S.
Consumers are also loosening their purse strings at retail stores selling
imports at reduced prices.
A 72-year-old housewife looked happy when she held a grapefruit in her hands at
an Ito-Yokado Co. supermarket in Tokyo's Ota Ward. ''I usually don't buy
grapefruits but (now I'm buying) because they are cheap,'' she said.
A discount campaign is on at 161 Ito-Yokado outlets across Japan as the yen's
ascent has brought down the cost of imported goods.
Aeon Co. is offering a similar sale on up to 50 products at its 300 Jusco
supermarkets across the nation.
Banks also have become busier because of the strong yen.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. has seen a spike in foreign-currency time
deposits. ''U.S. and Australian dollars have become particularly popular,''
says the bank's public relations officer.
Money that has been flowing into foreign currency deposit accounts per day in
August is roughly double that of the same month a year ago, according to the
bank.
At noon Tuesday, a 42-year-old company worker was waiting in a line formed in
front of a moneychanger shop in the Yurakucho business district in central
Tokyo.
''Even though imports have become cheaper, there isn't anything I want to
buy,'' he said. Amid the yen's recent rise, the only bargain that appeals to
him is foreign currencies, he added.
Some economists sound less sanguine about the beneficial effect of the strong
yen for consumers.
Hideo Kumano, chief economist at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, points
out prices have been falling in Japan due to prolonged deflation while other
countries are going through inflation.
''Due also to pay cuts, people are not thinking that things have become
particularly cheap because of the yen's strength,'' he said.
==Kyodo