US President Trump raises concerns over a weak Yen with Japan PM Takaichi; Takaichi also called it undervalued; Japan Finance Minister Katayama expects excessive Yen selling to be corrected

Joint US-Japan jawboning on yen undervaluation is the strongest form of verbal intervention short of coordinated action, and historically it has mattered because Washington's assent removes the usual constraint on Tokyo: unilateral yen-buying intervention has tended to draw criticism as manipulation, whereas US-endorsed language signals tolerance or encouragement. Past episodes of this kind follow a recognisable sequence, escalating rhetoric from the finance ministry, then actual Ministry of Finance instructions to the Bank of Japan to sell dollars, with each round of intervention historically producing sharp but often temporary yen rallies unless backed by a shift in the rate differential. The distinguishing feature here is that the US side is raising the issue itself, which in previous episodes has preceded more durable repricing than Japanese complaints alone, since it hints at administration preference for a weaker dollar against the majors. Worth watching is whether language hardens into the familiar 'excessive moves' and 'all options' phrasing that has historically preceded actual intervention, whether the US Treasury repeats the undervaluation framing in formal statements, and where spot trades relative to levels that have drawn physical intervention in the past. The transmission channel is direct: dollar-yen positioning, risk-reversal skews, and the carry trade complex funded in yen.