Japan’s finance minister says he will closely communicate with US on forex

Japan finance minister Katsunobu Kato said on Monday he would communicate closely with US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent on foreign exchange, pointing out that close dialogue is important for market stability.

Kato made the comment to parliament when asked how he would communicate with Bessent as President Donald Trump's aggressive tariff policies could drive US inflation higher and affect foreign exchange markets.

Trump said earlier this month he told the leaders of Japan and China they could not continue to reduce the value of their currencies as doing so would be unfair to the US, though the yen has appreciated around 4% against the dollar so far this year.

Japan has said it has not devalued its currency.

"We have shared with the US the consensus that the currency rates should be determined by markets and that excessive, disorderly currency movements could negatively affect the economic and financial stability," Kato said.

"Based on this consensus, we would proactively communicate with the US."

Kato said he would use opportunities such as those provided by the meetings of financial leaders from the Group of Seven to bilaterally communicate with Bessent.

Reuters