Bill Clinton: “Well, we're watching that very closely. Of course, the strengthening of the yen could be a good thing. The yen got too…”

“Well, we're watching that very closely. Of course, the strengthening of the yen could be a good thing. The yen got too weak, and it led, for example, to breathtaking increases in imports of Japanese steel, which hurt a lot of our people, our industry, and our workers who were clearly competitive internationally. And if the Japanese yen were to come back because people believed Japan was serious about economic reform, then it would be a good thing. It would be a balancing of forces in the world economy. It would strengthen the American economy by strengthening our own domestic manufacturing sector and making our exports more competitive. It would make it possible for Japan to buy other countries' exports in Asia. If it's a temporary phenomenon that evidences some sort of instability, then that's something we just have to try to sort out. But I don't think we can know for sure yet. The clear answer over the long run is for America to fund our responsibilities to the IMF, for Japan to get serious about its economic reform, for the Europeans to keep their markets open and continue growth, so that all of us can get more money back into the global economic system right now and then deal with the long-term problem. That's what I hope. I think it's very important not to be diverted by day-to-day developments here and think about what the larger problem is. International Consultations/Impeachment Inquiry Vote”