The president of Japan’s Toyota Motor says the continued appreciation of the yen is one of the biggest threats facing the Japanese manufacturing industry.

New chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association and Toyota Motor CEO, Akio Toyoda, told Japanese reporters on Monday that the Japanese manufacturing industry would begin crumbling if the yen keeps appreciating at the current rate. He stressed that the manufacturing industry is necessary for the Japanese economy, since it creates jobs and earns foreign currency in markets overseas.

Toyoda called on the Japanese government to make strengthening the competitiveness of the Japanese auto industry its top priority, as the governments of South Korea and the U.S. are doing so with their auto industries.