Japan said it will remain in close contact with the U.S. Treasury over the yen’s recent strength and work to ensure orderly moves in the foreign-exchange market.
Bloomberg reported on September 8 that Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama told a news conference that Tokyo’s position had not changed at all since the joint U.S.-Japan market intervention, citing comments made at an August 3 press conference in Japan and a Washington statement by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
She added that Japan will continue close communication with the U.S. Treasury and seek to ensure orderly movements in the foreign-exchange market.
The yen has strengthened rapidly as expectations grow for another interest-rate increase by the Bank of Japan. In Tokyo foreign-exchange trading on the morning of September 8, the dollar traded at about 153.58 yen. That marked a sharp rise in the Japanese currency from around 160 yen a dollar just a week earlier. More recently, the yen has continued to strengthen past the 155-per-dollar level even without additional market intervention by authorities.
Economic data released that day also reinforced expectations for a BOJ rate hike. Japan’s second-quarter gross domestic product growth was revised up to an annualized 1.4%, while wage growth in July reached its highest level in about 30 years.
About a month earlier, Japan injected 15.4 trillion yen, or about $101 billion, into the foreign-exchange market to support the yen. The U.S. also joined the effort at the time for the first time in 28 years. Even after the intervention, the dollar-yen rate stayed near 160 for a time, but the yen’s rally has accelerated this month as bearish bets against the currency were rapidly unwound.
