Tokyo Market Rises on Word Takeshita Quits

The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s key index rose sharply today, but the dollar fell against the yen after Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita announced that he will resign as soon as the Diet (Parliament) approves the fiscal 1989 budget.

The dollar closed at 131.17 yen, down 0.21 yen from Monday’s 131.38-yen finish. It opened at 131.65 yen, its high for the day, and ranged as low as 131.05 yen.

“The dollar started higher following its weak note on overseas markets, where the yen was sold, but Japanese investors concertedly bought the (yen) following news about Mr. Takeshita’s resignation,” said an analyst with a commercial bank in Tokyo.

Investors believed that Takeshita’s departure would eliminate some political and economic tensions, he said.

Takeshita has been linked with a company at the center of a stock-profiteering and bribery scandal, and opposition parties have been boycotting budget deliberations in Parliament to demand that the government clear up the situation.

“There has been speculation of some more arrests of politicians, but the majority expects that things would not worsen,” the analyst added.