Japan Financial Services Agency publishes Finance Minister Katayama remarks on emergency gasoline subsidy and yen volatility

The Japan Financial Services Agency published a summary of Finance Minister and Minister for Special Missions Katayama’s post-Cabinet press conference, in which he defended the government’s subsidy aimed at bringing gasoline prices to around JPY 170 in response to the Middle East situation and commented on renewed yen weakness as USD/JPY approaches 160. Katayama framed the subsidy as an exceptional, emergency mitigation measure to avoid disruption to households, logistics and wider economic activity, arguing Japan could not have anticipated developments involving Iran. He said it was difficult to specify an exit strategy at the outset given the volatility and unpredictability of the situation, and linked the measure’s duration to trends in crude oil prices and efforts to contain speculative moves, including through discussions in forums such as the G7. On foreign exchange markets, he pointed to heightened event risk and uncertainty as conditions that can amplify speculative swings, noted the impact of exchange-rate moves on people’s lives, and said authorities would maintain a high level of vigilance and take all possible measures as needed.