Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki will meet with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Washington next week following the yen's plunge to a 20-year low against the dollar, sources close to the matter said Friday.
The two are planning to meet Thursday, a day after a gathering of the finance chiefs of the Group of 20 major economies, and may discuss possible policy coordination in the foreign exchange market during their first bilateral talks in person.
The yen sank to the mid-126 range against the dollar on Friday in Tokyo, its lowest level since May 2002, amid the prospect of a widening monetary policy gap between the Bank of Japan and the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has started tightening monetary policy to curb rising inflation.
Some market participants have said the dollar could top the 130 yen line, stirring speculation that the Japanese government and central bank may intervene in the currency market for the first time since 2011.
Suzuki and Yellen are also expected to discuss sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and how to support the war-torn country.
In a regular press conference on Friday, Suzuki said depreciation of the yen could be viewed as "bad" in a situation where material prices have not been fully passed on and wage increases have been insufficient.
Suzuki also said that at the G-20 meeting he would aim for "Russia's outrageous action to be reined in not only by the Group of Seven but by the wider international community."
Suzuki's comment on the G-20 came a day after it was reported that Russia would participate in the meeting virtually, with Western nations calling for the country to be excluded from the framework over the invasion of Ukraine.
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