TOKYO, Oct 21 — The possible appointment of Satsuki Katayama as Japan's next finance minister could give markets cause to rethink pushing the yen too low but might also help the country's new leader find fresh ways to fund bold economic stimulus plans.
Japan's next likely prime minister Sanae Takaichi has finalised a plan to appoint Katayama as finance minister, local media reported today, which would make her the first woman to hold the role. The report briefly pushed the dollar to around 150.50 yen, before recouping some losses.
In an interview with Reuters in March, Katayama, a 66-year-old veteran upper house lawmaker and former finance minister bureaucrat, said Japan's economic fundamentals suggest the yen's real value is closer to 120-130 per dollar.
Those comments were made when the yen's slide to multi-decade lows around 150 to the dollar on market expectations that the Bank of Japan will go slow on monetary tightening. The yen is currently trading around 151 per dollar.
"Given her past remarks, it seems Katayama favours reversing a weak yen. Markets may have seen that as similar to the views of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent," said Akira Moroga, chief market strategist at Aozora Bank.
Katayama declined to comment today.
Takaichi is set to be voted in as Japan's first female prime minister today, marking a symbolic shattering of the glass ceiling in a country where men still wield most power.
A former finance ministry bureaucrat well-versed in fiscal affairs, Katayama has a knack for currency diplomacy, and befriends former and incumbent executives at the ministry overseeing exchange-rate policy.
She is known for being outspoken and her punchy decision-making, which contrasts with incumbent finance minister Katsunobu Kato, who rarely goes off script and keeps a low profile.
