Tokyo: Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato on Tuesday rejected US President Donald Trump's claim that Japan is inducing a currency depreciation to weaken the yen. "We are not pursuing a policy of currency depreciation. If you look at the recent currency intervention, I think you can understand that," Kato said at a news conference.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the minister added that he and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the basic approach to the foreign currency market during their online meeting on Jan. 29. On Monday, Trump said Japan and China are guiding their currencies lower, indicating his intention to impose additional tariffs on imports from Japan if the currency depreciation policy is adopted.
"I've called President Xi, I've called the leaders of Japan to say you can't continue to reduce and break down your currency," the president told a news conference at the White House. Following his remarks, the yen rose from the JPY 150-range to the JPY 149-range against the dollar in the foreign exchange market.
Since 2022, the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan have been trying to correct the weak yen and strong dollar through currency intervention.