By Makiko Yamazaki
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese Minister of Finance Satsuki Katayama on Friday said the government has been monitoring foreign exchange movement "with a high sense of urgency", her strongest
comment on currency since assuming the role last week as the yen sits at a nine-month low.
"We have been recently seeing one-sided, rapid moves," Katayama said at a regular news conference. "The government has been monitoring, with a high sense of urgency, excessive fluctuations and disorderly movements on the currency market, including those driven by speculators."
The yen on Thursday touched 154.45 against the U.S. dollar - the weakest since mid-February - after the Bank of Japan emerged from its policy meeting with a less hawkish tone than traders expected, while the greenback received a boost after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said a December interest rate cut was not guaranteed.
Katayama's foreign exchange comments since her appointment were previously limited to general principles such as that rate movement should be stable and reflect economic fundamentals.
Asked about the central bank maintaining its interest rate on Thursday, Katayama said the decision was "extremely reasonable in light of current circumstances".
Regarding U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying in an X post that Japan's government should give the central bank scope to raise interest rates, Katayama said Bessent "didn't say anything that would be beyond what we ourselves could do".
"Secretary Bessent is someone who is well-versed in Japan's systems," she said, pointing out that the central bank is independent and entrusted with the means of adjusting monetary policy.
"About two weeks prior, he had exchanged views with BOJ Governor (Kazuo) Ueda, so I imagine he understood Governor Ueda's stance and probably anticipated that the BOJ wouldn't take action this time," Katayama said.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Christopher Cushing)
