Japan’s new ‘top currency diplomat’ Atsushi Mimura said “always watching” yen carry trade

Atsushi Mimura is Japan’s vice finance minister for international affairs, AKA ‘top currency diplomat’.

Japan’s finance ministry is the relevant authority in Japan for ordering intervention in the JPY. Mimura has taken over from Kanda in charge of the relevant department, so it’s him who would be directing Bank of Japan intervention, should it come to that.

Mimura spoke with NHK (Japan’s massive public broadcaster):

• authorities are “always watching markets”
• yen carry trades built up in the past are likely to have been mostly unwound …
  “But if such moves increase again, that could heighten market volatility. We are always watching markets to ensure that does not happen”
• authorities stand ready to act if currency moves become extremely volatile and deviate from fundamentals in a way that cause problems to firms and households

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.