Atsushi Mimura Named as Japan's New FX Diplomat Amid Yen Plunge

Japan has appointed Atsushi Mimura as its top foreign exchange diplomat, succeeding Masato Kanda, who initiated the largest yen-buying intervention on record this year. The appointment, effective July 31, is part of a regular personnel reshuffle and comes amid expectations of imminent market intervention by Tokyo to stabilize the yen, which has reached a 38-year low against the dollar.

Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki has expressed deep concern over the impact of "rapid and one-sided" foreign exchange moves on the economy. The yen recently fell to 161.155 per dollar, its lowest level since 1986, increasing import costs and adding inflationary pressures. Mimura, currently head of the ministry’s international bureau, will become vice finance minister for international affairs, overseeing Japan's currency policy and coordinating economic policy with other countries. This transition occurs just before a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Rio de Janeiro from July 25.