In an X post on Sunday, Takaichi said she did not favour a specific yen direction.
“I did not say which is better or worse – a strong yen or a weak yen,” Takaichi said in the post.
She said the government is monitoring financial markets and, as prime minister, she will refrain from commenting specifically on the matter.
“My intention was solely to state that we aim to build an economic structure that is resilient to exchange-rate fluctuation, and not, as some reports have suggested, to emphasise the benefits of a weak yen.”
Former Prime Minister and Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who co-heads the largest – and newly created – opposition party, the Centrist Reform Alliance, said a weak yen hurts households, Nikkei reported on Sunday.
“No one feels pleased while looking at their household budget amid an excessive weakening of the yen,” Nikkei quoted Noda as saying. “The perspective of ordinary people is missing, which has made me concerned once again.”
The yen spiked after reports that the New York Federal Reserve had joined the Japanese authorities in asking banks about exchange rates for yen purchases – queries that market participants often interpret as readiness to intervene.
The yen’s protracted decline and a recent surge in Japanese government bond yields to record highs reflect investor concern about Japan’s strained finances.
Takaichi is seeking a mandate for her mission to reflate the economy.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/japan-pm-takaichi-weak-yen-us-dollar-inflation-rate-hike-5898116
