Japan’s finance minister vows to closely watch FX moves

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato reiterated on Tuesday that the authorities would be vigilant to foreign exchange moves, including those driven by speculators.

“We will continue to closely monitor foreign exchange moves, including those driven by speculators, with a higher sense of vigilance,” Kato told a regular news conference.

The yen is languishing at three-month lows as the loss of Japan’s ruling bloc’s parliamentary majority has raised expectations that the political turmoil could make it harder for the Bank of Japan to wean the economy off decades of monetary stimulus.

The election results also heightened prospects that a new government will need to seek support from smaller opposition parties and ramp up spending to win public support.

“We plan to compile a meaningful economic package and supplementary budget by taking in policies from parties outside (the coalition bloc),” Kato said.