U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet Japan's prime minister, central bank governor and finance minister when he visits the country next week, a source familiar with the matter said Thursday.
Bessent is ?arranging a ?three-day visit to Japan starting Monday, said the source, who declined to be identified as the matter is private. Bessent is then scheduled to visit China.
Bessent will speak individually with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda during the visit, the source added.
The Nikkei, which first reported the planned meetings citing officials from both countries, said Bessent is expected to discuss curbing speculative yen selling, economic security matters such as ?rare earths and energy procurement, and potentially the war in Iran.
His visit comes as Japan battles a sliding yen that ?is pushing inflation and household costs higher.
The yen surged suddenly on Wednesday, sparking speculation of further intervention by Tokyo. The currency climbed from around ?157.8 to the dollar to ?155 in a half hour of holiday-thinned trade in the Asian session.
Last month, Japan and the U.S. had agreed to strengthen communication on exchange rates. Bessent had repeatedly signaled that the yen's weakness could be better addressed through faster rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.
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