TOKYO, June 22 (Reuters) – Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama held an online meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent late on Monday, a source close to the discussion said, as concerns grow over sharp currency swings.
The meeting focused on policy responses to the historically weak yen, potentially including currency intervention, Japanese broadcaster TBS reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter.
The yen briefly weakened to around 161.9 late on Monday, just shy of a two-year low reached last week. A break above 161.96 would take the yen to its weakest level since 1986.
Tokyo spent a record 11.7 trillion yen ($72.44 billion) intervening in foreign exchange markets between late April and early May.
The discussion between Katayama and Bessent took place while Japanese financial authorities kept markets guessing about possible currency intervention, with the lack of clear signals suggesting a potential shift in communication tactics.
Katayama on Monday said Tokyo “will respond appropriately to currency moves at any time,” repeating a phrase authorities routinely use regardless of yen levels.
(Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Jamie Freed)
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