TOKYO - More Japanese companies believe a Kamala Harris presidency in the U.S. would be better for their businesses than a second Donald Trump administration, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday, reflecting the respondents concerns about protectionism and policy unpredictability.
Japan's relations with the Trump administration were at times strained by his demands for more payments towards military assistance and by trade tensions. Nikkei Research reached out to 506 companies from July 31 to Aug. 9 on behalf of Reuters for the survey, with 243 firms responding.Regardless of who wins the U.S. election, 13% of Japanese companies are considering reducing operations in China, while 3% are looking into expanding their businesses, with 47% planning to maintain their current exposure, the survey showed.
The survey also showed 24% of respondents saw recent rounds of intervention in the foreign exchange market by Japanese authorities as appropriate, compared with 9% that found the moves inappropriate and 64% that believed they were unavoidable.