Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said Trump raised concern about the weak yen at Tuesday’s summit with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. She said Takaichi told Trump an undervalued yen was problematic in principle.
Katayama said she disclosed the exchange for the first time after consulting the Prime Minister’s Office. She said the discussion reaffirmed the shared U.S.-Japan position behind their July 31 coordinated intervention: countering excessive volatility and disorderly yen moves. The dollar’s broader rise against the yen has been driven by strong U.S. economic data, a hawkish Federal Reserve and rising U.S. bond yields. After Katayama’s remarks, the yen strengthened slightly, moving from 158.60 per dollar to around 158.
The weak yen is raising Japan’s energy-import costs, already elevated amid the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, and fueling concerns about inflation overshooting. Katayama declined to say whether bond yields were discussed at the summit. Japan’s 10-year government bond yield hit 3.115% Friday, a 30-year high, after a steep U.S. bond-market selloff; Washington is concerned a Japanese bond selloff could spill over into U.S. Treasuries.
