Japan, U.S. agree dollar-yen rate mirrors economic fundamentals #JapanFinance

Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato on Wednesday discussed with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent currency issues connected to ongoing bilateral tariff negotiations, with both sides agreeing that the dollar-yen exchange rate at present reflects economic fundamentals.

In contrast to what has been deemed by President Donald Trump as one of the causes behind his country’s persistent trade deficit with Japan, the acknowledgement, announced by the U.S Treasury Department, essentially means that months of the yen’s weakness against the dollar should no longer be an issue to be addressed in the tariff talks.

Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato holds a press conference in Banff, Canada, on May 21, 2025, after bilateral talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Kato and the U.S. department said the two reaffirmed their shared belief that exchange rates should be market-determined when they held their second talks in less than a month on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of Seven finance chiefs in the Canadian Rocky Mountain resort town of Banff.

As in their previous meeting on April 24, they did not discuss desired foreign exchange levels, according to Kato and the department.

During the latest meeting, which lasted about 30 minutes, Kato told reporters that he expressed concern about the impact on the global economy and financial markets of the uncertainty created by the Trump administration’s wave of tariffs.

Kato said he told Bessent that using tariffs to deal with trade imbalances is inappropriate, while noting that he was able to further deepen discussions on the basic view of foreign exchange policies.

During their last meeting in Washington, Bessent, who has been leading tariff talks with multiple countries, did not push Japan to pursue specific exchange rate targets or a framework to control yen movements.

In parallel, Bessent and Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, have been holding far-reaching discussions on tariffs introduced during Trump’s second term, including those targeting the automotive industry and major trading partners with country-by-country duties.

In early May, Akazawa and Bessent agreed to ramp up ministerial talks from the latter half of this month with the aim of striking a “mutually beneficial” deal as early as June.

Akazawa is due to arrive in Washington again on Friday to hold his third round of such negotiations. However, according to officials familiar with the matter, Bessent is expected to be absent from the talks and Akazawa is likely to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Akazawa, minister in charge of economic revitalization, and Bessent have agreed to leave currency issues to Kato and the treasury secretary.

Trump, seeking to slash the U.S. trade deficit with Japan, has claimed that the yen’s weakness against the dollar gives Japanese exporters an unfair advantage.

Japan has repeatedly denied engaging in currency manipulation and reiterated that it will not back down from its strong opposition to the additional tariffs.

But the United States’ recent trade deals with Britain and China have shown that Trump does not intend to row back from his administration’s baseline tariff of 10 percent on all imports that is part of its so-called reciprocal package.

Trump has also said that auto and other sector-based tariffs imposed by his administration on national security grounds will remain in place, while signaling that only the country-by-country duties added to the 10 percent universal levy are negotiable.

Under Trump’s reciprocal tariff regime, announced April 2, countries such as Britain that do not have trade surpluses with the United States are exempted from extra tariffs, only being subject to the baseline duty.

Japan faces a country-specific tariff of 14 percent for a total rate of 24 percent.

Removing the Trump administration’s new 25 percent tariffs on cars and auto parts is of utmost importance to Japan, given that such exports to the U.S. market are a major driver of its economy, with Japanese policymakers saying there is no point in reaching a deal with the United States unless the measures are eliminated.

However, sources close to the bilateral negotiations said Tuesday that Japan has started considering an option to back off from seeking a full removal of the U.S. tariffs.

Following the British and Chinese negotiations, the Japanese government is increasingly of the belief that achieving the original goal may be too difficult. In a bid to break the stalemate in the Japan-U.S. talks, the sources said, Tokyo is studying to what extent it could concede to lower U.S. tariff rates to strike a quick deal.

Related coverage:

U.S. eyes region-based tariffs for many nations as deadline nears

81% in Japan feel “uneasy” about Trump’s 2nd presidency: poll

FOCUS: Japan carmakers focus on popular models to soften U.S. tariff impact