Japan ready to respond ‘appropriately’ to yen moves, government spokesperson says
Japan’s newly-appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara arrives at the prime minister’s official residence in Tokyo, Japan October 21, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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TOKYO, June 18 : Japan is ready to respond appropriately to exchange-rate moves, the government’s top spokesperson said on Thursday as the yen’s renewed slide tests Tokyo’s readiness to intervene in the market to prop up the sagging currency.
“We are ready to respond appropriately to currency moves as needed at any time,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a regular press conference, when asked about the yen’s declines.
While a weak yen helps boost corporate profits by making it easier for manufacturers to export goods produced domestically, it increases the burden for firms and households through higher import costs, Kihara said.
“We need to scrutinise such effects comprehensively,” he said, adding the government will closely watch market developments.
The dollar strengthened across the board on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve, while keeping interest rates steady, issued a statement showing that policymakers expected a hike later this year on growing concerns about inflation.
Prospects of a hawkish Fed hurt the yen, which briefly slid to 160.795 per dollar on Wednesday – levels unseen in nearly two years, wiping out gains made after Tokyo’s intervention on April 30. It stood at 160.76 on Thursday.
Source: Reuters
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