{
  "id": 11150910,
  "title": "Japan PM vows to underpin yen by boosting economic competitiveness",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/japan-pm-vows-to-underpin-yen-by-boosting-economic-competitiveness-11150910",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-01T08:42:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Investing.com",
    "slug": "investing-com",
    "url": "https://www.investing.com/news/economy-news/japan-pm-vows-to-underpin-yen-by-boosting-economic-competitiveness-4926511"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi vowed to bolster the yen by enhancing the country's economic competitiveness during an interview on Nippon Television. She also expressed her concerns about the yen's undervaluation to US President Donald Trump during their last meeting. Takaichi emphasized that Japan's economic policy is not focused on manipulating exchange rates. Instead, her administration intends to enhance Japan's growth potential by increasing the economy's capacity through significant investments in crisis management and growth sectors. This approach would bolster Japan's global competitiveness, which would in turn ensure market confidence in the yen. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent endorsed Japan's economic policy during Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama's bilateral talks on August 31, without making specific demands. Takaichi reiterated that there is no change in Japan's stance of balancing a strong economy with sustainable fiscal policy. The Bank of Japan's interest rate hikes, including one last month, have not succeeded in strengthening the yen, which has become a burden due to higher import costs and inflation. Takaichi's ambitious spending plans have been partly blamed for weakening the yen and raising bond yields, as investors worry about Japan's deteriorating finances and the likelihood of additional debt issuance. The administration's budget requests for the upcoming fiscal year totalled 143 trillion yen ($903 billion), approaching pandemic-era levels, and may increase further as many items have been requested without specific amounts, including defense spending. Takaichi clarified that the budget requests may not automatically translate into the size of next year's budget, as the government will carefully evaluate which policies are necessary and effective. This is part of their broader effort to reform the budget process, which includes reviewing both spending and revenues while closely monitoring tax revenue trends. The government will set spending at levels consistent with its goal of steadily lowering Japan's debt-to-GDP ratio and appropriately manage bond issuances.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CNA - Business",
        "title": "Japan PM vows to underpin yen by boosting economic competitiveness",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/japan-pm-vows-to-underpin-yen-by-boosting-economic-competitiveness",
        "published": "2026-10-01T08:05:32.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Straits Times Business",
        "title": "Japan PM vows to underpin yen by boosting economic competitiveness",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/japan-pm-vows-to-underpin-yen-by-boosting-economic-competitiveness-11156969",
        "published": "2026-10-01T09:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}