Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said the government began in late August to tell markets more clearly that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's policies are not reflationary, after questions from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Japan's government has started to adjust its public message so markets do not read Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's program as reflationary, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said in a TV Tokyo interview aired Saturday, Reuters reported.
Katayama said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sees the policies as suited to current conditions but has asked whether Tokyo is explaining that clearly enough to investors. She said officials concluded around late August that the message needed to be clearer.
The remarks are the government's account of its communications, not a new fiscal package. Reuters did not report a change in tax, bond-issuance or interest-rate policy attached to the interview.
Takaichi's administration has faced investor questions about whether looser fiscal settings would weaken the yen or lift yields. Katayama's comments were aimed at that perception.
No market reaction figure was given in the Reuters report of the interview.