Japan's premier says stronger economy to help maintain confidence in yen

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Thursday that strengthening the economy and improving international competitiveness would help maintain confidence in the yen following coordinated Japanese-US intervention to support the currency.

Speaking to Nippon Television, Takaichi said her government would expand domestic investment to strengthen supply capacity and raise potential growth.

“Economic and fiscal policy is not conducted for the purpose of steering exchange rates,” she said.

“I believe strengthening Japan’s international competitiveness through these efforts will ultimately also help maintain confidence in the yen.”

Takaichi confirmed that US President Donald Trump raised concerns about yen weakness during their Sept. 22 meeting in New York.

“The other side said that the weak yen was making trade difficult for the United States. In response, I said, strictly as a general observation, that the yen’s undervaluation is a problem,” she said.

Japan’s Finance Ministry purchased yen in coordination with the US Treasury on July 31 to counter excessive volatility and disorderly currency movements, according to a ministry statement.

Japan spent 15.4 trillion yen ($97.45 billion) on foreign exchange intervention between July 30 and Aug. 26, ministry data showed. No intervention was recorded between Aug. 27 and Sept. 28.

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reaffirmed during a Sept. 25 call that the yen’s undervaluation was a concern and pledged closer cooperation.

Addressing fiscal concerns, Takaichi pledged to control annual government bond issuance and secure funding while pursuing spending consistent with steadily lowering Japan’s debt-to-GDP ratio.

She said ministries’ budget requests would not automatically become next year’s budget, promising to review spending and revenue and prioritize effective policies before year-end.

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