TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan explained to its G7 counterparts the yen's recent "somewhat rapid" declines, finance minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Thursday, underscoring Tokyo's growing alarm over the currency's sharp fall to a two-decade low against the dollar.
A precipitous drop in the yen has investors wary that Japan intervenes in the open market to support the currency. [FRX/]
TOKYO (Reuters) -China's security agreement with the Solomon Islands may affect security for the region and is a probable topic for discussions between the leaders of Japan and New Zealand on Thursday, Japan's chief cabinet secretary said.
TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday sent a ritual offering to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine for the war dead and several top ruling party leaders visited, prompting South Korea to express "deep disappointment and regret."
TOKYO (Reuters) -The yen's recent declines have been driven by fundamentals and would be no reason for Japan to change its economic policy, including the central bank's ultra-low interest rates, a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said.
TOKYO (Reuters) -The Bank of Japan on Wednesday boosted efforts to defend its yield target, making a fresh offer to buy an unlimited amount of the 10-year bonds for four consecutive sessions.
TOKYO (Reuters) -A senior Japanese government official said on Wednesday that there was no "good or bad" in exchange rates, in remarks that suggested Tokyo was not ready to take immediate action to shore up the weakening yen. In an interview with Reuters, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara reiterated authorities' common refrain that sharp moves in currency rates were undesirable and that the government would closely watch the impact of a softer yen on the economy.
The Japanese yen bounced from a fresh two-decade low on Wednesday after the Bank of Japan stepped into the market again to defend its ultra-low interest-rate policy, drawing a sharp contrast with the Federal Reserve's aggressive tightening path.
More entrenched inflation expectations, rather than a weak yen, will likely have greater sway over any future tweak in the Bank of Japan's massive stimulus programme and dovish guidance, three sources familiar with its thinking say.
Japan recorded a trade deficit in March that was more than four times wider than market forecasts, as China-bound exports slowed sharply while soaring energy prices raised the cost of imports, adding to economic challenges brought by conflict in Ukraine.
(Reuters) -A top ally of President Vladimir Putin said Russian forces will seize the last main stronghold of resistance in the besieged city of Mariupol on Thursday, after Ukraine proposed talks on evacuating troops and civilians there.