TOKYO, July 22 : Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Wednesday that the government remains ready to take decisive action in currency markets if needed, while refraining from commenting on specific foreign-exchange levels.
“Our stance has not changed at all. If there is a need for it, we will take decisive action appropriately at any time,” she told reporters at the Finance Ministry, after the dollar-yen exchange rate topped 163 yen to reach a 40-year high.
The country’s top currency diplomat, Atsushi Mimura, did not make any official comment when approached by reporters at the ministry earlier on Wednesday.
The yen lost ground amid a broad rise in the dollar, driven by the latest round of attacks in the Middle East that pushed oil prices higher and stoked concerns about inflation.
Markets are on the look-out for clues on whether Tokyo will intervene in the currency market to prop up the yen, after having done so in April and May when the Japanese currency weakened beyond the 160-per-dollar level.
