On the morning of the 16th, Finance Minister Katayama Satsuki (片山 さつき) said the foreign exchange market should be "monitored with a high sense of urgency" and reiterated her stance of acting without hesitation if necessary. The previous day, she stressed that her remarks regarding intervention had not wavered.
On the morning of the 16th, Finance Minister Katayama Satsuki (片山 さつき) said the foreign exchange market "needs to be monitored with a high sense of urgency." She had also said the previous day that she would "act without hesitation if necessary," reiterating her readiness to respond swiftly to market fluctuations.
Regarding the message issued when Japan and the United States jointly intervened in the foreign exchange market on the 15th, the finance minister stressed that it had "not wavered at all." She also made clear that she would act without hesitation if deemed necessary.
The remarks came as movements in the yen exchange rate remained sensitive in the foreign exchange market. At a time when the market is alert to the possibility of foreign exchange intervention by the government and the Bank of Japan, they represented the finance minister's verbal effort to deter market participants.
The series of remarks appears intended to convey both domestically and internationally the authorities' resolve to continue closely monitoring the market, in light of the impact of sharp foreign exchange fluctuations on the real economy and corporate activity.