Canon to increase domestic production

Japanese camera and office equipment giant Canon Inc. said it planned to increase domestic production to take advantage of a weaker yen. Canon Chief Financial Officer Toshizo Tanaka said Wednesday that there were two reasons for the company to move production back to Japan, the Wall Street Journal reported. "Abenomics is working well," he said, referring to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has pressed for fiscal stimulus that has weakened the yen, making currency rates more advantageous for exporters. Tanaka said Canon executives have concluded "the foreign currency rate won't fluctuate widely from the current levels for at least the next several years." In addition, Tanaka said that rising wages in other Asian countries was reducing the advantage of outsourcing work outside of Japan. Canon said it would increase production to 50 percent of the company's output by 2015, the Journal said. The current rate of Canon's production that is domestic is 43 percent. It has been below 50 percent since 2011, the Journal reported.