In Japan, Clues on Noda’s Forex Policy
Japan’s new finance minister Yoshihiko Noda has kept his foreign-exchange policy pretty vague since he took office, but his decision to retain former Ministry of Finance currency bureaucrat Toyoo Gyohten as a special adviser may be an indication that Mr. Noda is unlikely to intervene unless in extreme circumstances.
Mr. Gyohten served as vice finance minister for international affairs from 1986 to 1989—a top position for currency bureaucrats. He did intervene during his MOF tenure for sure, but he’s generally considered a less eager interventionist than other former vice finance ministers like “Mr. Yen” Eisuke Sakakibara, “Mr. Dollar” Zembei Mizoguchi.
“Mr. Gyohten is not a big fan of intervention,” is how one of former vice finance ministers had put it. How attentively Mr. Noda would listen to his forex views isn’t clear.
“I’m not going to decide (forex matters) with Mr. Gyohten…Currency policy is under the jurisdiction of the finance minister,” Mr. Noda told Dow Jones in a recent interview. But, “he is my adviser, so I will get reports from him and will listen to his opinions on various situations.”
That suggests Noda is at least not completely at odds with Gyohten on policy matters. Gyohten was hired as adviser by former finance minister Hirohisa Fujii last year, and has been in post since then.
Japan’s new finance minister Yoshihiko Noda has kept his foreign-exchange policy pretty vague since he took office, but his decision to retain former Ministry of Finance currency bureaucrat Toyoo Gyohten as a special adviser may be an indication that Mr. Noda is unlikely to intervene unless in extreme circumstances.
Mr. Gyohten served as vice finance minister for international affairs from 1986 to 1989—a top position for currency bureaucrats. He did intervene during his MOF tenure for sure, but he’s generally considered a less eager interventionist than other former vice finance ministers like “Mr. Yen” Eisuke Sakakibara, “Mr. Dollar” Zembei Mizoguchi.
“Mr. Gyohten is not a big fan of intervention,” is how one of former vice finance ministers had put it. How attentively Mr. Noda would listen to his forex views isn’t clear.
“I’m not going to decide (forex matters) with Mr. Gyohten…Currency policy is under the jurisdiction of the finance minister,” Mr. Noda told Dow Jones in a recent interview. But, “he is my adviser, so I will get reports from him and will listen to his opinions on various situations.”
That suggests Noda is at least not completely at odds with Gyohten on policy matters. Gyohten was hired as adviser by former finance minister Hirohisa Fujii last year, and has been in post since then.
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