The woman at the center of Japan’s currency fight

Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama delivers a speech at the Tokyo Stock Exchange to mark the opening of trading in 2026. | REUTERS

Sep 5, 2026

On a Monday evening in May, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sat down for dinner at a ritzy Japanese restaurant tucked inside a 400-year-old garden in central Tokyo.

Across the table was Satsuki Katayama, Japan’s sharp-tongued finance minister. Bessent was set to meet Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, the next day. But first, he had grievances to air.

Over two hours, Bessent, who closely followed the country’s economy as a hedge fund manager, unloaded his frustration with the economic direction set by the Japanese leader. Takaichi had expanded government spending while leaning on the Bank of Japan to keep interest rates low. The strategy was driving capital out of Tokyo, sending Japan’s currency to four-decade lows.

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