Overview
- Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shared concern about the yen’s "one-sided" depreciation after their Washington meeting.
- The currency traded around ¥158–¥158.7 per dollar at one-year lows, with a brief post-comment bounce fading.
- A government spokesperson warned of "appropriate steps" against excessive volatility, and officials cite a September Japan–U.S. statement as giving Tokyo scope to act.
- Analysts say intervention risk rises if moves turn disorderly or approach ¥160, with thin-liquidity windows such as Jan 19 flagged.
- Persistent weakness reflects wide rate differentials, expectations of a slow BOJ normalization, and fiscal stimulus speculation, even as a soft yen lifts the Nikkei to record highs and squeezes import costs.