Overview
- Japan’s finance chief said Tuesday in Tokyo that she and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent agreed to keep close coordination on exchange rates under a joint statement that allows intervention to counter excessive volatility.
- Japanese authorities are suspected to have spent nearly 10 trillion yen buying yen in recent weeks, a strategy often funded by selling U.S. Treasuries, which can push U.S. yields higher and raise America’s interest costs.
- Katayama said her two-hour meeting with Bessent covered foreign exchange, financial cooperation, and a wider agenda that included critical minerals and artificial intelligence supply chains.
- Bessent is heading to Seoul on Wednesday to meet Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng ahead of the Trump–Xi summit in Beijing, while no formal meeting with South Korea’s finance minister had been confirmed by local officials.
- Bessent has criticized large-scale yen intervention and favors faster Bank of Japan rate hikes, and market notes from April flagged the chance of a June move as Japan’s weak currency lifts import costs and higher U.S. yields risk pricier loans for households and businesses.