Washington, Sept. 25 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday that he and Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama discussed the desirability of a strong yen in online talks. “We discussed the desirability of a strong yen that reflects Japan’s strong economic fundamentals,” Bessent said in an X post, describing their talks as “productive.” He said the discussions built on Tuesday’s meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and reflected strong Japan-U.S. ties. Katayama earlier said that Trump expressed concern about the yen’s depreciation during his meeting with Takaichi. Bessent’s post said that he and Katayama also discussed “the importance of staying in close communication on currency markets.” Katayama told reporters after their talks that they “reaffirmed that the yen’s undervaluation is a problem.” Japanese and U.S. monetary authorities conducted coordinated yen-buying intervention at the end of July, but the yen soon resumed its decline. The Bank of Japan conducted a rate check Sept. 18, asking financial institutions about currency rate levels. Rate checks sometimes preceded currency market intervention. Despite that, the yen continued to weaken. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
