Japan must take ‘professional’ approach in tapping FX reserves, finance minister says

[TOKYO] Japan must take a “professional” approach in tapping its huge foreign reserves to fund spending and tax cuts as doing so would not be easy, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Sunday (Feb 8).

Tapping foreign reserves could be an option given recent yen moves, though doing so could cause problems as the reserves are used to conduct currency intervention, Katayama said in a television programme.

“The prime minister understands this point well. We would need to look at markets and decide what the most effective asset management is for Japan, so that we are taking a professional approach that does not cause any problems,” she said.

“If necessary, we would like to seek dialogue with markets on Monday in various forms,” she said. REUTERS