Japan shipyards call for currency action

TOKYO: Two Japanese shipbuilders have called for government action over what they say is an unfair advantage enjoyed by South Korean rivals from an artificially cheaper currency, a report said Tuesday. Shinjiro Mishima, president of Japanese shipbuilder Universal Shipbuilding, told the Financial Times that the government should work to counter "extremely determined" efforts by Seoul to control the level of the won. Tokyo "should of course act. We want intervention," Mishima told the business daily. Hisashi Hara, head of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shipbuilding business, said it was "impossible to compete on an equal basis" against South Korean rivals benefiting from a cheaper domestic currency. "On cost, rather than price, we are roughly equal. But when we convert to dollars, we become about 20 percent more expensive (than Korean yards)," he told the newspaper in a separate interview. The comments illustrate the concerns of Japanese companies, for whom the yen's ascent to 15-year highs has left them vulnerable to overseas rivals who can offer cheaper products of the same, if not better, quality. Japan last year called on Seoul and Beijing to act "responsibly" amid criticism over what was seen as government policies to weaken their currencies. Seoul has denied trying to influence the exchange rate and says its market interventions are aimed at smoothing out volatility. Beijing has come under repeated attack from the United States and European nations, who say it is keeping the yuan artificially low to help its exporters. The yen is hovering near a 15-year high against the dollar struck in November and has gained against other currencies, making the products of Japanese companies more expensive and eroding repatriated overseas profits. Japan has said it intervened in currency markets in September for the first time in six years to reduce volatile movements, and repeatedly warned it was ready to do so again if necessary to protect its export-led recovery.