Summary:
Japan says it has not lowered its guard against FX volatility.
Atsushi Mimura reiterates high-urgency monitoring stance.
Refuses to comment on speculation of rate checks.
Yen rebounds sharply from near 160 per dollar.
Close contact with US authorities emphasised.
Japan’s top currency official reiterated that authorities remain on high alert over foreign exchange volatility, pushing back against speculation that Tokyo may have already stepped up activity behind the scenes as the yen staged a sharp rebound.
Atsushi Mimura, Japan’s Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs, widely known in markets as the country’s “top currency diplomat”, spoke earlier. Recapping now. He said policymakers have “not lowered our guard at all” and will continue to monitor markets with a “high sense of urgency.”
Mimura declined to comment on market chatter that officials may have conducted rate checks following the latest U.S. employment data, a step often viewed as a precursor to direct currency intervention. “Our policy remains unchanged,” he told reporters, adding that authorities would maintain close communication with markets and remain in contact with U.S. counterparts.
The yen has gained nearly 3% since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s election victory, as investors speculate her mandate could support fiscal discipline and policy clarity.
For Japanese policymakers, currency moves carry inflation implications. A weaker yen raises import costs and feeds into domestic price pressures, complicating monetary policy calibration.
While Mimura’s tone was measured and broadly consistent with past verbal interventions, the explicit emphasis on continued vigilance, and coordination with Washington, keeps intervention risk in the background should volatility re-intensify.
Atsushi Mimura is Japan’s vice finance minister for international affairs, the country’s top currency diplomat, and the official with day-to-day responsibility for overseeing foreign-exchange policy.
In practice, Mimura is the key decision-maker on whether Japan intervenes in the FX market, acting under the authority of the finance minister and in coordination with the Bank of Japan, which executes intervention operations on his instruction. He monitors market conditions closely, assesses whether yen moves are excessive, disorderly or driven by speculation, and delivers the government’s verbal warnings that often precede action.
When intervention is authorised, Mimura formally directs the BOJ to enter the market, typically through yen-buying operations aimed at stabilising sharp or one-sided moves rather than targeting specific exchange-rate levels.
