Japan's Finance Ministry's Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs is Masato Kanda.
- He is the MoF official who will instruct the BOJ to intervene, when he judges it necessary.
- Often referred to as Japan's 'top currency diplomat'.
I posted before on how intervention is carried out in the yen by the BOJ, this summary via Goldman Sachs:
- FX intervention is carried out under the authority of the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
- The BoJ conducts FX interventions on behalf of and at the instruction of the MOF.
- The Foreign Exchange Fund Special Account (FEFSA), which falls under the jurisdiction of the MOF, is used for interventions.
- The MOF gives the BoJ specific instructions for FX intervention based on relevant market information provided by the BoJ.
ICYMI, Kanda had remarks overnight, Justin was quick to jump on them:
- Japan's Kanda: It will become 'noise' if we announce every FX intervention
- Japan's Kanda: It is normal not to announce FX intervention immediately after it is done
I can't say I am a fan of his constant headlining. But, hats off to him for holding USD/JPY under 150 for so long with little more than threats and innuendo.
