TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan would decide appropriately on whether to intervene to stem any excess yen weakening, a senior lawmaker in the country’s ruling coalition party said on Friday, as the Japanese currency slumped to a 32-year low against the dollar.
Keiichi Ishii, secretary general of Komeito party, an ally of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, made the comment hours after Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki reiterated the government’s readiness to take “appropriate action” at the Group of 20 financial leaders’ meeting in Washington.
The yen tumbled overnight to a 32-year low, driven by news that U.S. data showed consumer inflation at 8.2%, bolstering views that the Federal Reserve would keep on raising rates for longer, further hitting the value of Japan’s currency.
Ishii said that Japan needs to monitor the yen, which is at historically weak level, with a strong sense of urgency.
“Whether a weak yen or a strong yen, excess forex moves will have a very bad impact on the economy,” Ishii told a news briefing.
(Reporting by Shinichi Uchida, writing by Kaori Kaneko, editing by Alexander Smith)
