Japan’s Katayama: US and Japan affirm close cooperation on currency moves
Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said that Japan and the United States (US) reaffirmed their close cooperation on currency moves after a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Key quotes
Reaffirmed close cooperation on joint statement from last year.
Discussed wide global cooperation on crucial mineral supply chains.
Two countries in close contact, will continue to coordinate closely with Bessent.
Will not discuss BoJ's particular monetary policy tools.
China may close gap in high-tech sectors within six months to a year, but not currently.
Trust us, Japan is aligned in managing critical mineral supply chain.
Discussions on currency coordination with US have intensified.
No talks with Bessent on Tokyo's fiscal policy.
Unable to disclose if monetary policy talks occurred.
Comfortable with economic panel suggestion that BoJ consider firms' financing circumstances.
We have not yet stepped into oil futures market.
Hard to forecast June outlook, declines to comment on possibility of BoJ rate hike in June.
Market reaction
As of writing, the USD/JPY pair is up 0.22% on the day at 157.50.
Bank of Japan FAQs
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) is the Japanese central bank, which sets monetary policy in the country. Its mandate is to issue banknotes and carry out currency and monetary control to ensure price stability, which means an inflation target of around 2%.
The Bank of Japan embarked in an ultra-loose monetary policy in 2013 in order to stimulate the economy and fuel inflation amid a low-inflationary environment. The bank’s policy is based on Quantitative and Qualitative Easing (QQE), or printing notes to buy assets such as government or corporate bonds to provide liquidity. In 2016, the bank doubled down on its strategy and further loosened policy by first introducing negative interest rates and then directly controlling the yield of its 10-year government bonds. In March 2024, the BoJ lifted interest rates, effectively retreating from the ultra-loose monetary policy stance.
The Bank’s massive stimulus caused the Yen to depreciate against its main currency peers. This process exacerbated in 2022 and 2023 due to an increasing policy divergence between the Bank of Japan and other main central banks, which opted to increase interest rates sharply to fight decades-high levels of inflation. The BoJ’s policy led to a widening differential with other currencies, dragging down the value of the Yen. This trend partly reversed in 2024, when the BoJ decided to abandon its ultra-loose policy stance.
A weaker Yen and the spike in global energy prices led to an increase in Japanese inflation, which exceeded the BoJ’s 2% target. The prospect of rising salaries in the country – a key element fuelling inflation – also contributed to the move.
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