According to Reuters, as of around 1:30 p.m. (Hanoi time), or 6:30 a.m. GMT, the USD/JPY exchange rate had dropped to 140.615 Yen/USD, marking the lowest level since September last year. The Yen's decline comes after Mr. Trump's announcement of imposing a 25% tax rate on all imported cars, including from Japan - a sector considered a pillar of the country's export economy.
Although Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba affirmed that Tokyo has no plans to terminate the US-Japan trade deal in 2019, he also expressed "deep concern" about the conflict between the commitments in the agreement and the new US tax policy.
Previously, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he had received a commitment from President Trump that the US would not impose national security tariffs under Section 232 on cars imported from Japan. However, the reality shows that Japan is not currently exempted from the new tax policy, raising doubts about the consistency of bilateral commitments.
The move also increases the likelihood that the US will put pressure on Japan to interfere with exchange rate policy, forcing Tokyo to support the Yen - which has been weakening for a long time - to help reduce the US trade deficit.
Over the past week, Japan-US trade talks were resumed with a visit to Washington by negotiator Ryosei Akazawa. Discussions are expected to include non-tax barriers and sensitive issues such as exchange rate management. Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato will also meet US Finance Minister Scott Bessent this week, focusing on exchange rates and bilateral currency agreements.
Yen continues to depreciate, posing a difficult problem for Tokyo's policymakers, in the context of fluctuating global markets and concerns about Japan being "labeled" for currency manipulation.
As of 2:45 p.m. on April 21 (Hanoi time), the Japanese Yen exchange rate against VND continued to record slight fluctuations following the international market trend. In the free market, 1 Japanese Yen = 182.25 VND.
At commercial banks, the buying rate ranges from 177 - 182 VND, while the selling price is commonly at 188 - 190 VND. The difference between buying and selling prices reflects cautious market sentiment, as investors closely monitor signals from Japanese monetary policy and trade moves from the US.
