Bessent Calls for Japan to End Big Stimulus Policies Amid Weak Yen

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called for Japan to end its big stimulus policies and increase interest rates to combat a weak yen.

The comments came after a joint U.S.-Japan intervention in July to prop up the yen, which some analysts see as a message from Bessent for Japan to get its act together on inflation.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda is expected to announce interest rate hikes soon, with Oxford Economics predicting three increases this year and next: in September, December, and April 2027.

The weak yen has pushed up import prices and broader inflation, causing headaches for Japanese policymakers by increasing households' cost of living. Bessent's comments effectively locked the BOJ into rate hikes and put pressure on it to step them up going forward.