Japan’s Top FX Diplomat Kanda: Sharp one-sided currency moves cannot be tolerated

Japan’s top currency diplomat Masato Kanda warned on Thursday, sharp one-sided currency moves cannot be tolerated.

Key comments

"Sharp, one-sided moves as seen last year are not desirable or cannot be tolerated from the viewpoints of the people's livelihood and corporate activity.”

"There's no change to this thinking from now on as well," when asked whether sharp yen rises warrant action.

"Generally speaking, the BoJ targets price stability, while we aim for currency stability.”

"We are communicating firmly with the BoJ as well as other central banks. But policy itself is independent.”

Market reaction

The Japanese yen is finding some support from the above comments, with USD/JPY reversing toward 129.00 again. The pair is losing 0.31% on the day to trade at 129.18, as of writing.