Former MOF Official Kato Says Yen Strength Not Justified

Even with the yen’s slide to a seven-month low this week, the currency remains too strong relative to Japan’s economic fundamentals, said former top currency official Takatoshi Kato.

Japanese policy makers stand ready to intervene in markets again should the currency re-test the postwar records it reached last year, Kato said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday. The yen reached 80.40 per dollar on Feb. 22, the weakest level since July 11 and still 18 percent stronger than its five-year average of 95.14.