Japan’s Katayama says Trump voiced concern over weak yen in summit with Takaichi

[TOKYO] US President Donald Trump raised concern about yen weakness during a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said, offering an unusually detailed account of the leaders’ talks on currencies.

“At the recent Japan-US summit meeting, President Trump expressed concern about the yen’s weakness,” Katayama said at a regular news conference, adding that she was disclosing the exchange for the first time after consulting with the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Prime Minister Takaichi told him, as a general principle, that an undervalued yen is problematic,” Katayama said.

Katayama’s unusually frank account of leaders’ talks, which governments typically keep confidential, points to shared concern in Tokyo and Washington over the yen’s continued slide despite their joint intervention in July.

Takaichi met Trump in New York on Tuesday (Sep 22) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. She later told reporters they had a “timely” discussion about China ahead of Trump’s planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Katayama said the leaders’ discussion on foreign exchange reaffirmed the shared US-Japan stance behind their Jul 31 coordinated intervention, including a commitment to counter excessive volatility and disorderly moves in the yen.

“In light of this summit meeting, Treasury Secretary (Scott) Bessent and I will continue to communicate closely on a range of matters, including foreign exchange,” she said.

The dollar has been rallying against the yen and other major currencies, driven by strong US economic data, a hawkish Federal Reserve and surging US bond yields.

The yen briefly strengthened in overseas markets on Friday after Japanese authorities conducted rate checks, a move often seen as a precursor to currency intervention, but the gains proved short-lived.

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Katayama declined to comment on whether global rises in government bond yields were discussed at the Japan-US summit.

The benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield jumped to a 30-year high of 3.115 per cent on Friday following a steep selloff in the US market.

“Interest rates are affected by a variety of factors. As for us, we are steadily doing what we can,” Katayama said. REUTERS