What Takaichi said about the talks
In an exclusive interview aired Thursday evening on NTV, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Trump told her at their New York meeting last month that the yen's weakness is hurting U.S. trade. She described the exchange at the Japan-US leadership meeting and said she responded that "as a rule of thumb an undervalued yen is a problem."
Washington's posture and what Tokyo heard
Takaichi said that after discussions with Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, their understanding was that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recognized Japan's economic policy approach and had not asked for changes to its direction. At the same time, the Trump administration has been unusually outspoken about yen weakness. Bessent has repeatedly argued that the Bank of Japan ought to lift interest rates so the yen can reach a more appropriate level. While addressing an audience at a Texas university, he asserted he had "pretty good insight" into upcoming steps by Japanese policymakers and challenged speculators to wager against him.
Currency intervention and political optics
Japanese officials have tended to minimize the impact of U.S. commentary on their policymaking. Even so, Tokyo and Washington carried out a joint operation in the currency market after the yen moved around 164 per dollar, their first coordinated step to support the yen in 28 years. Trump called that intervention a sign of friendship. Takaichi's remarks also indicate that Washington's backing of Tokyo is partly motivated by the aim of easing worries that a weak yen is giving Japanese exporters an edge.
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The policy vision Takaichi is pitching
Takaichi avoided commenting on day to day currency moves and instead laid out her longer term roadmap. She said, "There's no change to my thinking that we will continue to pursue a strong economy and sustainable government finances based on responsible and proactive fiscal policy." She added that the aim is to raise Japan's potential growth and bolster supply capacity by directing significant funding toward risk management and expansion. In her view, raising the economy's competitiveness will ultimately build "trust in the yen."
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