* Japan should not be thinking about selling the US treasury * Poor yen behind rising living costs, Onodera says that * comments come when Japan arrives for trade talks by Leika Kihara Tokyo, – Japan must strengthen the Yen, such as increasing the country’s competitiveness as the currency of the currency has gained on Sunday costs. Prior to trade with the US, Isunori Onoda, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party’s policy research council, also said Japan should not deliberately sell its US Treasury ownership, the largest outside the United States, in retaliation at rates charged by President Donald Trump. “As an American ally, the government should not think about using the US Treasury shares deliberately,” Onodera told a program on public broadcaster NHK, rejecting the proposal of an opposition legislature that Tokyo uses its great interest in US government debt as a negotiation instrument in bilateral trade discussions. By blaming the poor yen for acceleration of inflation, Onodera may indicate that Japanese policymakers consider the downward trend of the yen, rather than the recent setback, as the bigger problem for the economy. “The weak yen was among factors that raise prices,” Onodera said. “To strengthen the yen, it is important to strengthen Japanese companies.” The bilateral trade negotiations this week are likely to include the thorny topic of currency policies, with some officials private for Washington to call on Tokyo to set up the yen. The slow rate at which the Bank or Japan raises interest rates from ultra-low levels can also come under fire, sources told Reuters. Tokyo’s largest trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, the Minister of Economic Revitalization, will meet Treasury Secretary Scott Besent on Thursday, two people who are familiar with the negotiations told Reuters. Rates Roil Yen, Treasuries Japan has historically tried to prevent the currency from rising too much, as a strong yen would harm its export -providing economy. But over the past few years, the BoJ has continued its ultra-loose monetary policy, while the Federal Reserve raised US interest rates, the yen has dropped to nearly three decades. Tokyo intervened to buy the yen in 2022 and again last year, when the dollar rose to nearly 160 yen. The Japanese currency recently merged into a broad sale of the dollar, which fell as low as 142,895 on Friday, the lowest since September. The ten trading days since Trump hit car manufacturers with rates have been the most convulsion since the pandemic panic of 2020, as prices of stocks, bonds, oil, gold and the dollar have swung wildly. Sold in Treasury – the Linchpin Safe Asset in Global Markets – was the heaviest for decades. A massive wave of sale that hit the US government debt in Asia Wednesday, the market speculation of China was among those who dropped its interest. The sale of the Treasury was one of the factors that resulted in Trump announcing a 90 -day break on his ‘reciprocal’ tariff plan, with Besent probably playing a key role. Japan had $ 1,079 treasury in January, followed by China with $ 760.8 billion, according to the data from the Treasury Department. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without edits to text. First Published: 13 Apr 2025, 10:01 am Ist
Japan policymaker wants stronger yen, says Tokyo should not sell treasury
