According to a report by Economic Intelligence Service on the 29th, Junichi Mimura, Japan's top currency official, said in an interview with Reuters on Monday (28th) that markets should take seriously the "very clear" warnings issued by Japanese and U.S. officials regarding the weakness of the yen. Affected by this, the yen rebounded, wiping out earlier losses, rising 0.4% to 156.51 yen per dollar, reaching the highest level since September 18. The yen is currently trading at 157.41.

During the interview, Mimura stated that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takagi, Finance Minister Shigeyuki Kajiyama, and U.S. officials have recently sent clear signals about the depreciation of the yen, and markets should take the official messages seriously.

He admitted that he is "neither satisfied nor comfortable" with the recent movements of the yen. When asked whether the authorities are prepared to intervene in the market again, he declined to comment, which the market interpreted as hinting at the possibility of further action.

Yusuke Miyairi, foreign exchange strategist at Nomura International, pointed out that the public involvement of Japan's top currency official in verbal intervention is enough to make markets nervous about the possibility of actual intervention by the Ministry of Finance in the near term, reflecting that Japanese authorities may be preparing to act again. (rc)