The followings are major statements of Mr. Takashi Imai, Chairman of Keidanren, at a press conference on January 17, 2000(tentative translation).
Japan's economy will certainly improve. It is only a matter of time for the the Nikkei 225 stock average to recover the level of 20,000 yen. Individual investors are quite active after a long interval.
The current dollar-yen exchange rate($1=¥105) is acceptable. If a yen would be stronger beyond the $1=¥100 level, it is not only a problem for Japan. It has negative impacts on the U.S. because a weak dollar would harm capital flows into the U.S. and, in the end, had affect U.S. stock prices.