Tokyo reassures small firms on weak yen

Tokyo

JAPAN'S government moved to address mounting concerns about a weakening yen by pledging assistance for small companies hurt by cost increases spurred by the falling exchange rate.

The trade ministry on Friday unveiled an initiative pressing large businesses to assist small firms to pass on rising input costs, aiding policy makers' broader plan to kindle sustained inflation in an economy marred by two decades of stagnation.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told lawmakers in Tokyo that big firms and exporters should pass on the…