The finance chiefs of Japan and the United States are expected to hold talks on currency this week with Japanese representative Katsunobu Kato departing Tuesday for Washington to attend international gatherings.
The U.S. dollar fell below 140 yen on Tuesday for the first time since September, after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not reducing interest rates.
At around 2:30 p.m. in Tokyo, the U.S. dollar fell to around 139.90 yen. It traded at 140.83-93 yen in New York and 140.55-57 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Monday.
The dollar also came under pressure amid speculation that the U.S. administration will urge Japan to address the yen's weakness against the dollar when the Japanese and U.S. finance chiefs meet in Washington.
The bilateral talks will likely take place on Thursday, and come after Trump accused Japan of pursuing a policy to reduce the yen's value, a claim rejected by the Japanese government.
Before his departure, Kato said he intends to discuss exchange rate issues with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as part of broader talks between the two governments centered on tariff negotiations.
The two previously confirmed they will discuss the issues closely, the finance minister said, while declining to comment further as it could cause speculation and unforeseen impact on the market.
During his visit, Kato will attend a two-day gathering from Wednesday of finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies, to be held on the fringes of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will also join the gatherings.
The U.S. dollar has been declining against the yen recently amid speculation the U.S. administration will urge Tokyo to address the dollar's strength against the Japanese currency, as Trump seeks to reduce his country's hefty trade deficit.
The Japanese government has rejected Trump's claim that it has devalued the yen and put U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage, pointing to its yen-buying, dollar-selling interventions in recent years to prop up the currency.
Japan and the United States have been engaging in trade talks, with the Asian nation urging its close ally to reconsider tariffs introduced by the U.S. president.
Last week, economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief negotiator, held the first round of talks with Bessent in Washington, but said exchange rates were not discussed.
© KYODO
29 Comments
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OssanAmerica
I think the writing is on the wall that the USD will drop further under the Trump administration.
Blacklabel
Good thing that’s what the USA wants right now.
Jim kirk
That is the best news ever. I’m hoping it will go down to ¥110.
stickman1760
Trump getting Japan to stop internationally weakening the yen may be the one thing he does I agree with.
I'veSeenFootage
Looking forward to dollar getting so weak that americans tourists stop coming to Japan!
rainyday
Dollar goes up under Trump:
Dollar goes down under Trump:
Dollar stays the same under Trump:
Peso replaces the Dollar under Trump:
Blacklabel
Is this not what Trump wants, a weaker dollar?
oh it is? I see.
BB
A weak dollar will further push up inflation, making it harder for the Fed to cut rates, so more drama in the pipeline!
Mr Kipling
Yes, it is central to his "master plan" and not just to the yen.
chatanista
OssanAmericaToday 04:48 pm JST
I think the writing is on the wall that the USD will drop further under the Trump administration.
That would be great for most living and working in Japan. The inflation driven by yen,s weakness had been a curse for the average Japanese consumer. Let's hope so.
Jimizo
lol.
I thought you’d be telling us about the tens of thousands of dollars you’ve made on the currency movements in the last few days.
Blacklabel
so a great time to do this when you have a Fed that refuses to cut rates for politics even when needed.
I'veSeenFootage
A "master plan" that is profoundly stupid and implausible.
Tokyo Guy
rainydayToday 05:13 pm JST
Dollar goes up under Trump:
Dollar goes down under Trump:
Dollar stays the same under Trump:
Peso replaces the Dollar under Trump:
I think we could make a game out of this.
China overtakes USA as dominant economy;
Good thing that's what the USA wants right now
Trump announces end of dollar, new US currency based on crypto and tied to the ruble:
Good thing that's what the USA wants right now
US enters huge recession and rest of world follows suit:
Good thing that's what the USA wants right now
Yrral
I.spend dollars every day,the prices of good usually go down, especially Chinese good
itsonlyrocknroll
President Trumps import tariffs are functioning like a simulated/stealthy dollar devaluation,
It a crude, risky methodology, artificially raises import costs, allowing domestic manufactures goods to appear cheaper.
itsonlyrocknroll
Masking the real-time side effects
Consumer essentials translate/morph to inflate retail prices.
Inflation, for a short-term gain/protection for domestic industries.
Second line side effects will kick in, foreign exporters will cut costs, find more crafty methods to reroute trade, central banks reaction will be "paranoia/panic" adding to the inflationary pressures.
Blacklabel
so a weak dollar is bad for the USA?
but it’s good for you, isn’t it!?
you seem to have a dilemma of wanting to complain but needing to praise “the plan”.
kohakuebisu
The dollar has bounced higher off 140ish levels twice since 2023, but this time looks different. The yen going higher is very welcome to me and should be to most people in Japan.
Based on prices in the UK and Japan, the pound is also massively overvalued vs. the yen. If you eat them, a Big Mac is 995 yen, over double the 480 yen Japan price. Such price diferentials are all over the place and in no way limited to Mcdonalds. A Suica card in Japan has a 500 yen deposit, an Oyster Card with no credit on it is seven pounds (1300 plus). When you see this, Japan is currently tourism deal of the century. It is no achievement to get more buyers by underselling yourself.
Blacklabel
These little currency fluctuations don’t bother you if you keep a correct ratio of dollar vs yen assets.
my US stocks are 30-40% cheaper in dollars to buy due to temporary dip in price.
Then even cheaper purchased in dollars with 10-15% stronger yen.
great opportunity has been created for men of action, while men of whining miss out. Again,
Tokyo Guy
BlacklabelToday 06:26 pm JST
These little currency fluctuations don’t bother you if you keep a correct ratio of dollar vs yen assets.
my US stocks are 30-40% cheaper in dollars to buy due to temporary dip in price.
Then even cheaper purchased in dollars with 10-15% stronger yen.
great opportunity has been created for men of action, while men of whining miss out. Again,
I would love to see how someone who clearly thinks he's a financial hotshot is also a hardcore groupie for a man who bankrupted the significant majority of the businesses he ran. Including a casino, which should for all intents and purposes be impossible to bankrupt.
And that same someone rails against Joe Biden, under whose watch the US stock market reached its highest recorded performance.
This is really like someone who claims to be a world class athlete claiming that Trump would beat Obama in a foot race. Or a bicycle race. Or...well, you get the idea.
Cognitive dissonance in real time. One of the interesting things to be observed from the comments section of this website.
Blacklabel
not in 2022, it was down at -27%.
and only recovered enough in 2023 to make +3% for two whole years.
nishikat
Is that a real story?
Blacklabel
“The highest stock market value in history occurred in February 2025, when the US Stock Market Index reached 6152.87”
even the basics seem to escape some people when they desperately don’t want it to be true- but it is.
Yrral
At the rate Trump going, American will not have any dollars to be devalue,11 trillion dollars of wealth vanish under Trump in less 100 days Google Trump Tariff Bank Failure
nishikat
Under Trump's watch I can travel overseas cheap now. Thanks Trump
Blacklabel
And what would happen to the market if that Powell guy put aside his politics and cut the rate as Trump asked?
To improve our economy as he (not Powell) was elected to do?
new all time highs, obviously.
I'veSeenFootage
A weak dollar has both good and bad sides, there are no clear cut answers on this issue (an incredible fact to grasp for the binary-thinking MAGA crowd, I know). The question is: what is Trump's "master plan" exactly?
If the aim is to devalue the dollar so much that it becomes as cheap as the yuan, and then "boost manufacturing" by turning the US into a sweatshop-based economy like China, that is profoundly stupid. Americans do not want to work 15 hours shifts making shoes and iphones for a few cents an hour. And "immigrants" will certainly not work those jobs either since the ones who might now face cruel deportations to a prison in a foreign country.
If the aim is to raise exports and lower imports in order to reduce trade deficits, that is a very moronic way to do it, because it requires trade agreements with the rest of the world, and the rest of the world is now alienated. It will be very hard to negociate "good" trade deals with Asia or Europe by force, despite what all MAGA lunatics think. Trump and his sycophants seem to forget that the US debt (they pretend to care about when its convenient) is owned by Japan, China, the UK... Other countries hold most of the cards in this proverbial game. If push comes to shove, and the rest of the world starts selling off this debt -like Japan did two weeks ago, which forced Trump to fold like a lawn chair-... The real fun times will begin.
Some dude
Trump and his sycophants seem to forget that the US debt (they pretend to care about when its convenient) is owned by Japan, China, the UK... Other countries hold most of the cards in this proverbial game. If push comes to shove, and the rest of the world starts selling off this debt -like Japan did two weeks ago, which forced Trump to fold like a lawn chair-... The real fun times will begin.
I would love to see the major holders of US debt start leveraging that fact. For one thing it would (well, I'd like to hope it would) finally persuade the MAGA people that other countries can play at financial shenanigans too, and are likely better at it as they are not ruled by a volatile, deeply unintelligent man-child with a grudge against half the world.
I honestly reckon Trump is too stubborn to ever admit to being outmanoeuvred, and that he would willingly see the complete collapse of the economy rather than admit that Xi and others have his number. He has - at least - a base of followers who mindlessly believe everything he says, so he'll be able to blame it on whatever has caused him to have a diaper rash that day, and they'll suck it up. The real question is whether the rest of the US (and the democratic party in particular) will have the drive or will to do anything about it, i.e. convince voters that they might want to check their sexism and racism at the door before considering their votes in the midterm elections.
shogun36
FINALLY!
Trump did something NOT terrible.
Keep up the bad work and drop the value more!