Masato Kanda
16:28 JST, August 1, 2024
Masato Kanda, 59, was appointed special adviser to the Cabinet on Thursday after resigning as deputy finance minister for international affairs on Wednesday.
Kanda, who has been involved in exchange rate policy and international negotiations for three years starting in 2021, will assist the government in areas such as the international economy.
During his tenure at the Ministry of Finance, he made a number of statements to counter speculators as the yen fell in value, which caught the market’s attention.
In September 2022, when the government and the Bank of Japan carried out the first intervention in 24 years to buy the yen and sell the dollar to stem the yen’s sharp decline, Kanda led the hands-on operation. He told the press just before the intervention, “We are on alert,” strongly implying that the government was ready to intervene at any time.
During his term, interventions were also carried out in October 2022, as well as from April to May and from June to July of this year, totaling approximately ¥25 trillion in confirmed amounts.
Masahiro Ichikawa of Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company said: “Kanda’s remarks conveyed the messages that the Finance Ministry always pays attention to.” Of Kanda’s successor, former International Bureau Director General Atsushi Mimura, 57, Ichikawa said: “I think the basic position will remain the same.”
Since March, Kanda had led a group of experts who analyzed the balance of international payments and discussed the challenges facing the Japanese economy. The suggestions for strengthening Japan’s international competitiveness were compiled in a report published on July 2.
