Japan, US agree to intensify communication on exchange rates

By Leika Kihara

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - Japan and the U.S. agreed to intensify communication on exchange rates, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said after her meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday.

Katayama, who is visiting Washington for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meeting as well as gatherings of the G7 and G20 finance leaders, made the remark on her X account.

"We have agreed to intensify communication more than before, given the current market situation," Katayama told reporters after the meeting, according to public broadcaster NHK.

She also said Japanese authorities were ready to take "decisive" action against excessive yen moves, NHK reported.

Japanese policymakers have repeatedly issued verbal warnings against recent yen falls, which push up import costs and add to already mounting inflationary pressures.

A weak yen could also exacerbate the impact of higher oil prices, as Japan is heavily reliant on energy imports.

With the Middle East war boosting demand for the safe-haven dollar, the yen remains close to the 160-per-dollar level that has sparked past yen-buying interventions by Japanese officials.

Katayama and Bessent last met in January, when the Japanese finance minister's verbal warnings after their talks propped up the yen as markets braced for the chance of intervention. (Reporting by Leika Kihara in Washington; additional reporting by Rie Ishiguro in Tokyo; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Jacqueline Wong)