Moreover, the currency depreciation in the wake of the Bank of Japan’s efforts to increase the annual inflation rate to 2% is expected to benefit exporters, though a substantial effect on the trade balance is yet to be seen, probably owing to higher import costs. In particular, thermal electricity plants have replaced the country’s nuclear plants – offline since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011 – and the weak yen has hit the import bill for oil and gas hard.
此外，日本银行为使年通胀率增至2%的措施使日元贬值，预计将有利于出口商，但对贸易平衡的实质影响还有待观察，这可能是拜进口成本增加所赐。特别是，热电站取代了日本的核电站——后者自2011年东日本大地震以来便处于停机状态，弱势日元极大地影响了石油和天然气进口支出。