Japan, U.S. Eye Joint Statement to Curb Yen’s Slide

Tokyo, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese and U.S. governments are considering issuing a joint statement aimed at stemming the yen’s depreciation against the dollar, informed sources said Sunday. After Japanese and U.S. authorities are believed to have conducted a coordinated yen-buying intervention on Friday, Tokyo and Washington now aim to demonstrate their resolve to address the yen’s historic drop, sources familiar with the matter said. Specifically, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama is expected to announce as early as Monday countermeasures in response to a series of reported foreign exchange market interventions. The U.S. government is apparently moving in step with Japan out of concerns that the yen’s weakening and falls in Japanese government bond prices would negatively affect long-term interest rates in the United States. Referring to cooperation between the United States and Japan, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday, “We continue to enjoy a strong relationship and close coordination.” On Thursday, the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan reportedly carried out a yen-buying, dollar-selling market intervention for the first time in about three months. U.S. authorities are also believed to have conducted a rate check, asking financial institutions about exchange rate levels, a move that sometimes precedes a currency market intervention. Against this backdrop, the dollar briefly plunged by nearly 5 yen to fall below 158 yen from levels above 162.50 yen. Although the dollar later rose back above 160 yen, the U.S. currency fell below 158 yen again, after Japanese and U.S. authorities apparently carried out yen-buying interventions intermittently. Japan and the United States last conducted a joint market intervention in the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that severely damaged northeastern Japan. If actually conducted, it would be the first joint yen-buying intervention by Japanese and U.S. authorities since 1998, when the Asian currency crisis was unfolding. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]