By Makiko Yamazaki
(Reuters) -Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato on Thursday called for vigilance against excessive foreign exchange volatility at the meeting of finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies in South Africa.
“I told the meeting that based on the existing G20 foreign exchange commitments, we should continue to be cautious about excessive volatility driven by speculative movements,” he told a press conference after the first day of the meeting.
Japan’s currency this week touched its weakest level since early April against the dollar and a one-year low against the euro, as polls showed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s coalition was in danger of losing its majority in the upper house.
Kato also said he had expressed concerns to his G20 counterparts about the impact of U.S. tariffs on global economies and financial markets.
“Tariffs are not an appropriate measure to correct the current account imbalance,” he said, adding that G20 should address the issues of imbalance though calm and constructive dialogue.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Sandra Maler)
