Japan's Finance Minister G-20 Doesn't Discuss Exchange Rate Issues The yen is affected by "longing factors" other than interest rate differentials

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said that the intrerest rate gap between Japan and the United States is only one of the longest factors that weigh on the yen, and the yen is currently hovering near a 34-year low against the dollar. Suzuki said Thursday after a meeting of G-20 finance ministers and Central Bank governors in Washington that "the level of the Exchange Rate depends not only on the Intrerest Rate gap, but also on longing factors such as economic conditions, market sentiment and speculation." "I don't think the Intrerest Rate gap alone determines the current level of the Exchange Rate," he said. Suzuki said that the coin issue was not on the agenda of the G-20 meeting, so he did not raise the issue at the meeting. Still, on other occasions in Washington, Japan has been able to communicate closely with some of its peers on forex issues, he said.