Japan, U.S. Finance Chiefs Affirm Cooperation over Forex

Tokyo, May 12 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Tuesday that she and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent affirmed cooperation regarding foreign exchange market developments at their meeting in Tokyo the same day.

"We shared the view that Japan and the United States are cooperating very well" over the currency market, Katayama told a press conference after the meeting, suggesting that she obtained U.S. understanding for Japanese authorities' yen-buying, dollar-selling interventions conducted since late April to correct the yen's sharp depreciation.

"We agreed to continue working closely together" based on a joint statement issued last September by Bessent and then Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato, Katayama said. The Japanese side "gained full understanding" from Washington, she added. The document showed tolerance of interventions to combat "excess volatility and disorderly movements" in foreign exchange rates.

Katayama and Bessent also exchanged views on economic measures in Japan and the United States. "(Neither of us) pointed out any problems, including on spending," Katayama said.

Meanwhile, she declined to comment on whether the Japanese and U.S. finance chiefs discussed the Bank of Japan's monetary policy.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]