Japan finance minister to attend G-20 meet in US on Wednesday

TOKYO • Japan is preparing to attend a gathering of financial leaders from the Group of 20 (G-20) economic powers next week, its Finance Minister said yesterday, as Western nations sought the expulsion of Russia from the forum and said they would skip sessions where Moscow is represented.

Mr Shunichi Suzuki said Japan "is not in the position to respond to each country's participation", when asked about Russia's plans to join the forum online, which G-20 chair Indonesia announced on Thursday.

Japanese officials are keen to have their minister go to Washington for the G-20 meeting next Wednesday on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank spring gatherings.

Mr Suzuki was not able to attend the previous meeting of the group in February. "The G-20 meeting is a very important conference to discuss various issues of the global economy, including rising food and energy prices due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine," he told a news conference.

Last week, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Washington will boycott some G-20 meetings if Russian officials show up.

German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has called for rejection of any form of cooperation with Russia at the G-20.

Meanwhile, Japan "will take appropriate steps" in close cooperation with Group of Seven allies and Indonesia, based on a March G-7 leaders' statement that said international platforms should not continue relations with Russia in a business as usual manner, Mr Suzuki said.

Mr Suzuki and his American counterpart Ms Yellen are likely to meet next week on the sidelines of the G-20 gathering, Kyodo news agency reported yesterday.

Currencies could be among possible topics, after the two sides affirmed last month close communication between their currency authorities.

Yesterday, the yen fell as far as 126.56 to the dollar, the lowest since May 2002, as the greenback strengthened on hawkish comments from US Federal Reserve officials.

A weak yen can be "bad" for Japan's economy if rising costs of raw materials cannot be passed on to prices of goods sold and if the price inflation outstrips wage growth, Mr Suzuki said yesterday, clarifying his recent remark about the Japanese currency.

REUTERS