The Fed's rate hike and the U.S. economy

As the impact of Wall Street's tumble showed, the longer the U.S. economy takes to achieve a soft landing, the greater the danger that turmoil in that economy will inflict heavy damage on the global economy.

We urge both the U.S. government and the Fed to act responsibly in helping the United States and the world as a whole maintain stable economic growth.

If the U.S. economy is to make a soft landing quickly, the cooperation of Japan and European countries is also essential.

Among the factors that have caused the U.S. economy to grow too fast and U.S. stock prices to rise excessively is the fact that the world's capital funds have kept flowing solely into the United States.

Restoring the balance in the flow of those funds would cool the United States' economy and stock prices.

-- Yomiuri Shimbun, Tokyo