Tokyo, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday U.S. President Donald Trump told her at their meeting in New York on Tuesday that U.S. trade has been tough due to the yen’s depreciation. In response, the prime minister said to the U.S. leader that the undervaluation of the yen is a problem in general terms, she told reporters at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo. Takaichi said that the two leaders did not discuss monetary and fiscal issues at the bilateral summit. She said: “There is no change in the Takaichi administration’s stance. We will achieve a strong economy and fiscal sustainability at the same time under the banner of responsible and proactive public finances.” Earlier on Friday, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said that Trump expressed concern over the yen’s falls at the meeting with Takaichi. In late July, Japanese and U.S. authorities conducted coordinated yen-buying currency market intervention for the first time in about 28 years, seeking to correct the weakness of the Japanese currency. Katayama and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have not ruled out the possibility of the two countries conducting further coordinated intervention. Such a policy was affirmed at the bilateral summit, Katayama said, adding, “I will continue to closely communicate with Secretary Bessent on various matters, including foreign exchange rates.” In the foreign exchange market, the dollar climbed rapidly from levels below 157 yen although the Bank of Japan decided Sept. 18 to raise its policy interest rate. On the night of Sept. 18, the central bank carried out a “rate check,” a move believed to be a precursor to an intervention, asking financial institutions about currency rate levels. The yen remained under selling pressure, however, with the dollar briefly topping 159 yen early Friday. Some in the market believe that the Japanese side tried to keep a check on yen selling by demonstrating that Tokyo and Washington confirmed the need to correct the yen’s weakness at the summit level. But the yen’s weakness is unlikely to change amid strong expectations that the gap between U.S. and Japanese interest rates will not shrink as the U.S. Federal Reserve is seen carrying out an additional interest rate hike within this year due to inflation concerns reflecting higher crude oil prices. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
