U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that in a recent conversation with Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, they discussed the "desirability" of a strong yen.
"We discussed the desirability of a strong yen, because it reflects strong fundamentals in the Japanese economy," Bessent said in a post on X on Friday.
Earlier, Japan's Ministry of Finance said in a readout of the call that the two reaffirmed concerns that the yen is undervalued and their willingness to further strengthen cooperation.
After Bessent's post, the yen maintained its gains. On the same day, Japanese policymakers signaled they were trying to shape investors' views of Tokyo's overall economic policy stance.
With markets worried about how much support Japan's monetary policy is providing for the exchange rate, the yen has fallen in recent days.
Earlier in the day, Katayama said at a press conference that U.S. President Donald Trump expressed concern about the yen's weakness to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during their meeting in New York this week.
Bessent said his call with Katayama "followed up on President Trump's meeting with Prime Minister Takaichi earlier this week and reflects the strength of the U.S.-Japan partnership."
The two also discussed "the importance of maintaining close communication on foreign exchange markets."
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