Bessent meets Japan’s finance minister a month after joint yen intervention

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama in Asheville, North Carolina, a month after the two countries intervened together to support the yen.

Bessent also met Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda during the G20 gathering, which was scheduled to continue through Tuesday. According to Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, citing a U.S. Treasury official, Bessent stressed the importance of Japan showing markets its commitment to fiscal sustainability and higher interest rates.

Katayama said she and Bessent confirmed that an orderly yen exchange rate was essential for financial-market stability. She also said continued coordination between Japan and the United States would serve a common purpose.

The countries intervened in foreign-exchange markets on July 31, when the yen traded near 164 to the dollar, its weakest level in almost 40 years. By Tuesday, it had returned to around 159 per dollar, well away from the roughly 155 level reached after the intervention. That decline has fueled speculation that Japan and the United States could take further joint action.

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An orderly exchange rate for the yen is essential for the stability of financial markets, and the continuation of coordinated efforts between Japan and the United States will serve a common purpose.