U.S. Treasury Sec. Bessent to Visit Japan from Mon.

Washington, May 10 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said on X, formerly Twitter, that he will visit Japan from Monday for talks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama the next day. Bessent is expected to discuss currency market developments after Japan intervened in the market by buying yen and selling dollars April 30. He will travel to Japan and South Korea before accompanying President Donald Trump to China, to which Trump is set to make a two-day visit from Thursday to meet with President Xi Jinping. Bessent will arrive in South Korea on Wednesday. In the X post, he said that in Tokyo, he will also meet with “other government and private sector representatives for discussions on the U.S.-Japan economic relationship.” Regarding foreign exchange rates, he is expected to confirm with the Japanese side the two countries’ joint statement issued in September last year that currency market interventions “should be reserved for combatting excess volatility and disorderly movements.” In Seoul, Bessent is slated to meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, according to the post. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]