Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Friday she and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reaffirmed at their online meeting the same day that “the undervaluation of the yen is problematic.” Katayama revealed this in talks with reporters after the virtual meeting. “We exchanged views on financial market developments,” she also said. “We also reconfirmed that the two countries will further strengthen cooperation,” Katayama added. In late July, Japanese and U.S. authorities conducted their first concerted yen-buying currency market intervention in about 28 years, in an effort to correct the weakness of the Japanese currency. In a statement released later, Katayama and Bessent did not rule out the possibility of the two countries conducting further coordinated intervention. Currency market developments were discussed at a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and U.S. President Donald Trump in New York on Tuesday. Trump expressed concern over the yen’s weakening against the dollar, and Takaichi responded by saying that the yen’s undervaluation is problematic. Takaichi said that the Japan-U.S. joint intervention was great, and Trump agreed to the view, according to Katayama. Katayama said that she followed up on the matter at Friday’s online meeting with Bessent. The Japanese finance chief said she told Bessent that Takaichi is not a reflationist, who advocates aggressive monetary easing and fiscal spending. Bessent was pleased at her explanation, according to Katayama. Katayama and Bessent are also believed to have discussed recent developments in the bond market, at a time when long-term-interest rates in both Japan and the United States are rising sharply. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
