Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Thursday that the TOKYO Japan's recent currency intervention was carried out to correct market distortion caused by speculative currency moves, signalling his readiness to intervene if speculation persists.
In the last week, Tokyo intervened in the foreign exchange market to prop up the yen for the first time in 24 years after the Japanese currency broke through a 24 year low above 145 yen to the dollar. The dollar was trading around 144.64 yen at the end of the day.
Currencies should be determined by markets and it is important for them to be stable. Suzuki told reporters on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting in Manila that sharp and one-sided moves are undesirable.
He said that the issue of currencies was not on the agenda at the ADB meeting.
Suzuki said that sharp currency swings would cause trouble for businesses and households because of the speculative moves in the market that changed the way in which currency moves should be.
We remain vigilant against currency moves from now on and will take necessary steps when necessary. On Thursday, Suzuki held a bilateral talk with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who flew from Tokyo after attending a state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Suzuki urged the president to give sufficient information on debt, based on a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund IMF.
All creditors, including China and India, must participate in resolving debt issues. If the environment is prepared, Japan will be ready to play its role firmly, he said.