1.   Automakers are also more capable of sending cars where demand is greatest and hedging their bets if the yen appreciates in value, Pearce said.

2.   However, should U.S. stocks start to decline and the difference between American and Japanese interest rates narrow, the yen could appreciate again, Tanaka said.

3.   In this case, if the yen should appreciate significantly against the dollar, the principle value of a bond such as the one planned by IBM will decline.

4.   Should the yen appreciate further, however, recovery would be in jeopardy, the report said.

5.   Sony forecast aggressive gains in profits for the current year, assuming the yen does not appreciate again.

6.   This increased productivity has allowed exports to surge even as the yen appreciated against the dollar in recent years, he said.

7.   The drop in income came mostly in the second half of the year, when the yen rapidly appreciated against the U.S. dollar, Sony said.

8.   Hata also said that if Japan failed to open its markets wider and loosen deregulation, the yen could appreciate further, which might slow economic recovery.

9.   Some players speculated the yen might appreciate temporarily.

10.   The leader of the most influential Japanese business organization said Thursday that economic activities in Japan remained weak and the yen should not appreciate further.