Japan's finance minister Katayama said the government's exchange-rate stance has
not changed after the yen strengthened to its strongest levels since February
and authorities remain committed to ensuring an orderly FX market. He said Tokyo
will continue close communication with U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent and
reiterated that policy has been unchanged since the joint Japan-U.S.
intervention. The yen's recent rally, driven in part by rising BoJ tightening
expectations, pushed it well through the 155 area; it traded around 153 against
the dollar in early Tokyo trade on Tuesday, versus about 160 a week earlier.
Katayama also noted recent data that support BoJ rate-hike prospects: Q2 GDP was
revised up to 1.4% annualized and July wage growth was the fastest in nearly 30
years.
