Japan will continue working to maintain an orderly currency market through close communication with the United States, the government said on Sept 17 as the yen weakened following the Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Japan’s stance on excessive currency movements had not changed after the yen fell towards 155.50 per US dollar in Asian trading, down from a seven-month high of 152.89 reached earlier this month.
“We will continue to communicate closely with the US Treasury Department and strive towards maintaining an orderly currency market,” Kihara told a regular news conference.
“Our stance has absolutely not changed since the time Japan and the US conducted joint intervention at the end of July,” he said.
Japan and the United States carried out a rare joint yen-buying intervention on July 31 after the currency approached a 40-year low of around 164 per dollar earlier that month.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama separately said Japan had made clear its determination to address excessive currency volatility when the joint intervention was launched.
She also said she expected the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to coordinate closely with the government and conduct appropriate monetary policy to achieve its 2% inflation target.
The yen weakened after the US Fed raised interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, triggering a broader rise in the dollar.
The BOJ is expected to raise its policy rate to 1.25% on Friday, its highest level in 31 years. However, analysts say the move may provide limited support for the yen unless BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda signals a faster pace of future rate increases.
Both Kihara and Katayama were reappointed to their positions in a cabinet reshuffle announced on Thursday.
Reuters
