Japan's economy, the challenge of South Korea's semiconductor catch-up and the weak yen dilemma draws attention

Interest in the South Korean economy, especially the semiconductor industry led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, is growing in Japan. Hosaaka Yuji, special professor at Korea University, recently explained the Japanese economy and the policy direction of the Sanae Takaichi Cabinet, saying that Japanese society is closely watching South Korea's industrial competitiveness in real time amid low growth and rising prices. He pointed out that wage increases in Japan are not keeping pace with price rises, so real income is not increasing significantly. In particular, he analyzed that the Japanese government's push for largescale investment in the AI and semiconductor sectors is an attempt to break through the slowdown in growth, but it also reflects an industrial sense of competition to catch up with South Korea and Taiwan. He also said that Japan is facing growing policy burdens between a weak yen and interest rate hikes. To ease the weak yen, interest rates need to be raised, but this could increase household loan and corporate financing costs, so the government and the central bank are moving in different directions.