Japan Ready to Respond to Excessive Yen Declines: Finance Minister

Tokyo, July 3 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Finance Ministry will always respond appropriately to excessive depreciation of the yen when necessary, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Friday. The remark came despite the yen’s strengthening the previous day, as the Japanese currency remained generally weak with the dollar trading above 160 yen. Katayama avoided commenting on any specific exchange rate levels. Dollar selling briefly intensified against the yen following Thursday’s release of weaker-than-expected U.S. employment data. “Japan has been in close communication with the United States,” Katayama said. “It doesn’t matter whether the United States is on holiday or not.” U.S. financial markets will be closed Friday in observance of the Independence Day holiday, which falls on Saturday. “There have been no changes to the memorandum of understanding between Japan and the United States” regarding foreign exchange policy, she added. In a draft of the Japanese government’s Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform, released on Tuesday, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that an appropriate fiscal policy was of critical importance to achieving a strong economy. “It is consistent with what the prime minister has stated,” Katayama said, “Nothing new has been added.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]