41.   Speaking at a regular press conference after a Cabinet meeting, Mitsuzuka said an excessively strong yen is just as undesirable as an excessively weak yen.

42.   Still, a weaker yen has not been good for all manufacturers.

43.   Sony sees no need to change its exchange rate forecast because it is still uncertain whether the weaker yen is here to stay, the spokeswoman said.

44.   Takada also pointed out that the yen is weaker, raising the price of imported pulp, which Daishowa is more dependent on than other Japanese paper makers.

45.   The dollar fell following comments last week by Japanese Finance Ministry officials that the yen was too weak, stoking concerns about central bank intervention.

46.   The dollar has been dropping against the yen since last week, when a top Japanese official suggested the yen was already weak enough.

47.   The dollar is strong because the Japanese yen is weak, amid worries the Japanese recession will deepen.

48.   The dollar held up better against the mark after comments by Bundesbank council member Ernst Welteke that a strong yen is good for German exports.

49.   The plummeting yen is even less of a threat to the growing number of U.S. companies that do their Japanese business through alliances with Japanese companies.

50.   The rising yen is another factor.