Japan and the United States reaffirmed the need for continued coordination to ensure orderly yen exchange rate movements and global financial stability in a meeting on August 31, 2026. The talks took place between Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the sidelines of the G20 finance meeting in Asheville, North Carolina [1, 2, 3].

This was their first face-to-face bilateral meeting since the rare joint intervention on July 31, when both governments stepped in to buy yen after the currency fell to a 40-year low near 164 yen per US dollar. The intervention briefly strengthened the yen, but the currency later weakened beyond the 160 level [1, 2, 3].

Japan spent a record 15.4 trillion yen (about $96 billion) between late July and August to support the yen amid pressures from a large interest rate gap with the US [3]. Katayama emphasized Japan’s readiness to act if markets behave disorderly though she declined to label recent yen moves around 160 as either orderly or disorderly, citing difficulty judging the factors behind the moves [1, 2, 3].

Bessent expressed confidence that Japan and the Bank of Japan would take further steps toward strengthening the yen. He said, "It's my belief that the Japanese government and the BOJ will do things that will lead to a stronger yen," and added he could not affect natural market equilibrium but could send signals that the market lacks [2, 3].

A senior Japanese finance official said Bessent did not make specific requests during the meeting. Japan’s top currency diplomat, Atsushi Mimura, called the talks very constructive and said they discussed future cooperation on currency policy [1, 2].

The yen’s weakness mainly stems from the large interest rate gap between Japan and the US. Japan aims to balance strong economic growth with fiscal sustainability in managing currency policy [2, 3].

The two sides agreed to maintain close coordination to promote stability in the yen exchange rate and global markets following the July joint intervention and recent market volatility [1, 2, 3].