“The yen is perhaps the world’s most undervalued currency ... Even if Japan is not intervening to hold down its currency, the yen is still misaligned.” – Editorial, The Economist, February 7, 2007

“Trade isn’t fair when you’re the only one playing by the rules.” – Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introducing S. 1021, The Japan Currency Manipulation Act (press release), March 28, 2007

“There seems to be no doubt that the weak yen is substantially assisting Japanese imports to the United States.  From 2005 to 2006, imports of Japanese cars and trucks rose by more than 30 percent.  It is a little understood fact that Toyota's exports to the United States are almost as great as the number of vehicles produced in the United States by Toyota.” - House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, Trade Subcommittee Chairman Sander Levin, Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell, and Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, Letter to Secretary Henry Paulson, February 8, 2007

“Foreign-exchange volatility is not a good thing,” French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said. “Everyone agrees [the yen] should reflect the real value of the Japanese economy.” – The Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2007

“More concerted and sustained implementation – with every country doing its part – is needed to help reduce medium-term risks associated with the [global] imbalances.  Key elements include … further structural reforms, including fiscal consolidation, in Japan, and allowing greater exchange rate flexibility in a number of surplus countries in emerging Asia.” – International Monetary Fund communiqué, April 22, 2006.
 
“This one-sided advantage due to currency effects has absolutely nothing to do with the actual competitiveness or attractiveness of products … The yen rate develops more and more into an invisible price and cost advantage.” – Bernd Gottschalk, president of German auto-industry association VDA, The Wall Street Journal, February 9, 2007

“But most of all, selling down [its foreign currency] reserves would demonstrate to the world that Japan's currency interventions work both ways, and that it is interested in the stability of the yen rather than in keeping it permanently undervalued.” – Editorial, The Financial Times, February 7, 2007

“An informal survey by Bank of America analysts showed that among a group of U.S. corporate clients surveyed, U.S. companies are perhaps even more concerned over yen weakness than yuan weakness.  And Bank of Japan officials have proven they are willing to resist any outside pressures to act in a way that they believe may not benefit Japan.” – Associated Press, October 10, 2006