US treasury says BOJ should continue to tighten policy
TOKYO : The Bank of Japan should continue to proceed with monetary tightening, which would support a 'normalisation of the yen's weakness' and rebalancing of bilateral trade, the US treasury department said yesterday.
The comments, made in the treasury's exchange-rate report to congress, come as steep US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump complicate the BOJ's efforts to raise interest rates and wean the economy off its historic monetary stimulus.
'BOJ policy tightening should continue to proceed in response to domestic economic fundamentals, including growth and inflation, supporting a normalisation of the yen's weakness against the dollar and a much-needed structural rebalancing of bilateral trade,' the Treasury said in the report.
'Treasury also stresses that government investment vehicles, such as large public pension funds, should invest abroad for risk-adjusted return and diversification purposes, and not to target the exchange rate for competitive purposes,' the report said on Japan.
The rare, explicit mention of Japan's monetary policy turns Washington's focus to the BOJ's ultra-low interest rate, which is seen among factors that have kept the yen weak against the dollar.
Asked about the report, Japanese finance minister Katsunobu Kato told a news conference today that the government leaves monetary policy decisions to the BOJ.
With regard to the report's reference on pension funds, Kato said it was natural for pension funds to pursue their own purposes in fund management.
The treasury said no major US trading partner was found manipulating its currency in 2024.
However, it said Japan, as well as China, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Ireland and Switzerland, were on its monitoring list for extra foreign exchange scrutiny.
The BOJ ended its massive monetary stimulus last year and in January raised short-term interest rates to 0.5% on the view Japan was on the cusp of durably hitting its 2% inflation target.
While the central bank has signalled a readiness to raise rates further, the economic repercussions from higher US tariffs forced it to cut its growth forecasts in May.
The slow pace at which the BOJ is raising interest rates has been seen by markets as a key factor keeping the yen weak against other currencies.
A Reuters poll, taken on May 7-13, showed most economists expect the BOJ to hold rates steady through September with a small majority forecasting a hike by year-end.
Some market players have speculated Washington could pile pressure on Tokyo to help weaken the dollar against the yen and give US exports a competitive trade advantage.
Kato has denied discussing exchange-rate levels or the idea of setting a currency target in his recent meetings with US treasury secretary Scott Bessent.
However, he said after a meeting with Bessent in April that he explained Japan's wage and price developments, suggesting discussions may have touched upon BOJ policy.
'I don't think there's a big gap in the view between the US and Japan on the direction of the BOJ's policy,' said Japan's former top currency diplomat Mitsuhiro Furusawa.
'But the timing of the rate hike would be tricky,' he told Reuters. 'With so much uncertainty, the BOJ can't hike rates easily or aggressively,' he added.
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