Japan Govt, BOJ Ready to Counter Speculative Yen Buying

Tokyo, Sept. 22 (Jiji Press)--Officials of the Finance Ministry, the Financial Services Agency and the Bank of Japan held an emergency meeting Thursday to examine developments in financial markets following the BOJ's adoption the previous day of a new easing scheme including a long-term interest rate target. After the BOJ decision, moves to sell dollars to buy yen accelerated. In New York trading overnight, the dollar plunged to one-month lows below 100.50 yen. The Japanese market was closed Thursday for a national holiday. Emerging from the meeting, Masatsugu Asakawa, vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters that he is concerned about "some nervous moves" seen in the currency market. "In case that speculative moves continue, we will have to make a necessary response," Asakawa said, indicating Japanese authorities' readiness to step into the market to check the yen's sharp appreciation. "Market player should brace for intervention if the dollar drops below 100 yen," a currency dealer at a major commercial bank said. At the meeting, the participating officials exchanged opinions on the BOJ's new policy framework and agreed to make joint efforts to bring the Japanese economy out of deflation and put it on a sustainable growth path. Highly rating the BOJ decision, Asakawa stressed that the government, for its part, has to carry out full-fledged structural reforms such as work style overhaul in Japan. This was the first trilateral meeting since Aug. 18. It was also attended by Vice Finance Minister Shinichi Sato, FSA Commissioner Nobuchika Mori and BOJ Executive Director Masayoshi Amamiya. END