Japan Denies G-20 Discussions on Yen at Shanghai Meeting

Tokyo, March 2 (Jiji Press)--Masatsugu Asakawa, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs, told Jiji Press on Wednesday that there were no discussions on the yen at the Group of 20 meeting in Shanghai last week. His comment followed media reports quoting Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem, also Dutch finance minister, as saying that the Japanese currency, as well as China's yuan, was a subject of talks among G-20 finance ministers and central bank leaders. The Eurogroup chief also reportedly said that during the G-20 meeting, concerns were expressed that the Bank of Japan's negative interest policy could fuel a currency war. Speaking to Asakawa, Dijsselbloem defended himself saying that his remarks were wrongly quoted, according to the top Japanese financial diplomat. Dijsselbloem also expressed his intention to correct the remarks in question, Asakawa added. In a joint statement issued after the two-day Shanghai meeting through Saturday, the G-20 officials said, "We will refrain from competitive (currency) devaluations and we will not target our exchange rates for competitive purposes." On Saturday, BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told reporters that he had faced no complaints about the negative interest policy during the G-20 talks. The reported remarks by Dijsselbloem were taken by some as a warning against the BOJ's possible additional monetary easing. END