Japan’s Akazawa: No comment on specifics of tariff negotiations with Trump
Japan's Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa said on Friday that he has no comment on specific negotiations with the United States. Akazawa said that the Japanese officials want to hold the next meeting after mid-May.
Key quotes
Negotiation lasted for 130 minutes
Able to have thorough discussions.
Again requested review of tariffs on Japan.
No comment on specific negotiations.
Talked how Japan can expand trade, non-tariff measures, economic security with the US.
Told the US that tariff measures are regrettable.
Did not discuss forex.
Want to hold the next meeting after mid-May.
No discussions on national security.
Asked us to review tariff measures on auto parts.
Negotiation is handled as a package.
National security matters are different from tariff talks.
Did not talk about China during talks.
Already decided forex matters to be discussed between finance ministers.
Understand that the US wants to reach some kind of agreement within a 90-day window with various countries.
Market reaction
At the time of writing, the USD/JPY pair is trading 0.29% higher on the day to trade at 145.82.
Japanese Yen FAQs
The Japanese Yen (JPY) is one of the world’s most traded currencies. Its value is broadly determined by the performance of the Japanese economy, but more specifically by the Bank of Japan’s policy, the differential between Japanese and US bond yields, or risk sentiment among traders, among other factors.
One of the Bank of Japan’s mandates is currency control, so its moves are key for the Yen. The BoJ has directly intervened in currency markets sometimes, generally to lower the value of the Yen, although it refrains from doing it often due to political concerns of its main trading partners. The BoJ ultra-loose monetary policy between 2013 and 2024 caused the Yen to depreciate against its main currency peers due to an increasing policy divergence between the Bank of Japan and other main central banks. More recently, the gradually unwinding of this ultra-loose policy has given some support to the Yen.
Over the last decade, the BoJ’s stance of sticking to ultra-loose monetary policy has led to a widening policy divergence with other central banks, particularly with the US Federal Reserve. This supported a widening of the differential between the 10-year US and Japanese bonds, which favored the US Dollar against the Japanese Yen. The BoJ decision in 2024 to gradually abandon the ultra-loose policy, coupled with interest-rate cuts in other major central banks, is narrowing this differential.
The Japanese Yen is often seen as a safe-haven investment. This means that in times of market stress, investors are more likely to put their money in the Japanese currency due to its supposed reliability and stability. Turbulent times are likely to strengthen the Yen’s value against other currencies seen as more risky to invest in.
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