He's been buying equipment here for years, and now with the high yen, he's trying to sell as well.

But because of the higher yen, sales were down.

"The squeeze going on in corporate Japan is really severe," he said, because the high yen makes exporting difficult.

The lower interest rates may compensate for the higher yen.

It has fallen 16 percent this year, from a high of 101.68 yen to the dollar on Jan. 17.

In late trading, the dollar was at 124.95 yen, down from the 125.40 high for the day but still above late Thursday's 124.68.

The high yen is still a problem for many export-oriented industries.

An artificially high yen would create downward pressure on domestic prices, which is the last thing the country needs.

Some analysts say that the high yen, rather than being a burden, is a blessing in disguise for Japanese companies.

A higher yen makes Japanese products more expensive and therefore less competitive overseas.