TOKYO, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co Chief Executive Takanobu Ito said on Thursday a dollar below 90 yen is "too painful", noting that Japan's No.2 automaker was barely forecasting a profit in the second half at that level.
"We're in pretty dire straits already right now," Ito told Reuters in an interview at Honda's headquarters in Tokyo.
"A dollar-yen in the 80s would be too painful."
Honda has set its dollar rate assumption for the second half of the financial year, from October to March, at 90 yen, forecasting an operating profit in the period of 80 billion yen ($890 million) thanks largely to its relatively healthy motorcycle business.
The dollar was trading at 89.94 yen on Thursday, after hitting an eight-month low of 88.23 yen on trading platform EBS earlier this week. (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim)