Japan Pledges Close US Coordination to Keep Yen Moves Orderly

Japan will keep working closely with the United States to ensure the yen moves in an orderly manner, the government's top spokesperson said on Thursday, after a fresh slide in the currency.

The yen weakened to around 155.50 in Asian trading, retreating from a seven-month high of 152.89 touched earlier this month, after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday and lifted the dollar broadly.

"We will continue to communicate closely with the US Treasury Department and strive towards maintaining an orderly currency market," Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a regular news conference, responding to a question on the Fed's move.

Kihara said Tokyo's position had not shifted since Japan and the United States carried out a rare joint yen-buying intervention on July 31, when they also pledged further action if needed. That operation pulled the yen well away from a 40-year low of nearly 164 reached earlier in July.

Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, speaking at a separate briefing, said Japan had made clear its determination to tackle excessive currency volatility when it launched the joint intervention. She added that she expected the Bank of Japan to coordinate closely with the government and pursue appropriate monetary policy to meet its 2% inflation target.

Both Kihara and Katayama were reappointed to their posts in a cabinet reshuffle announced later on Thursday.

The central bank is due to raise interest rates to a 31-year high of 1.25% on Friday. Analysts say the move, widely anticipated, is unlikely to support the yen unless Governor Kazuo Ueda signals a hawkish stance on the pace of future increases.