Ghosn On Crusade Against Japanese Yen

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

If anyone again mentions that the Japanese manipulate their currency to get an unfair advantage in international markets, then I will strangle him. Or make him pay my Tokyo restaurant, taxi, and even subway bills in converted dollars. Strangling would be the more humane punishment.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has an even more painful option in store: He’ll leave the island. “If the Japanese government wants to really safeguard and develop employment, then something has to be done,” Ghosn told Reuters editors Paul Ingrassia and Kevin Krolicki in an interview in New York.

Ghosn is on a worldwide crusade against the “abnormal” yen. Last week in Kyushu, Ghosn announced a rethinking of Nissan’s production presence in Japan if the yen hasn’t returned to an (unspecified) normalcy six months from now. A week later in New York, Ghosn said:

“We have been talking about this as an industry for a while. Unfortunately, it keeps happening. It looks like whatever effort has been done so far has not delivered results.”

“We have to make investment decisions all the time. This is one of the factors that we have to consider when we look at a project and say are we going to do it in Japan or are we going to do it in another country?”

The yen doesn’t seem to listen. A dollar buys you 76 yen, and 76 yen will buy you next to nothing in Japan. Attempts to bring down the yen have failed.

Investment decisions are made on a long-term basis. It appears as if the decisions have already been made at Nissan, and Ghosn is simply softening the blow that is soon to come.

Already, Nissan and other Japanese manufacturers are growing their capacity abroad with no expansion at home. Percentage-wise, the Japanese capacity shrinks. Nissan had made commitments to keep Japanese production at 1 million units. Toyota had committed to 3 million units. Even that is no longer sacred. Both have made noises that either the yen drops or their Japanese production will. At some point, moving production abroad will also mean that engineering follows. Engineering without attendant production is like surgery without a body.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 9 comments
  • Pgcooldad Pgcooldad on Sep 28, 2011

    Ok, I'll bite. The Japanese used to manipulate their currency - Carlos wants them to do it again.

    • L'avventura L'avventura on Sep 28, 2011

      Ok, I'll bite too. The hypocrisy here is that much of the currency 'manipulation' that the US accused Japan of is exactly what the US is doing now. Bernanke deliberately tried to coin the US version of quantitative easing, 'credit easing', to distance itself from Japan's policy, but it hasn't stuck for a reason. Because its exactly the same.

  • Eldard Eldard on Oct 06, 2011

    Is he describing the wonders of French cuisine with those gestures? Anyhoo, he better pray China starts floating her currency so the desperate carry trade whores will have somewhere more stable to park their money. And increase the purchasing power of the mighty dragon. To the detriment of the West. ;)

  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
Next