Japan's Finance Minister Katayama Satsuki said on Tuesday that the weakness of the yen remains an ongoing concern, and that Japan and the United States will maintain close contact in seeking to preserve order in the foreign exchange market.

"As Takaichi Sanae said at the recent Japan-US summit in New York, I also believe that, on the whole, the yen being undervalued is a problem," Katayama Satsuki said.

"We will continue to maintain close communication between Japanese and US financial authorities and are committed to maintaining the orderly operation of the foreign exchange market," she added.

Katayama Satsuki made these remarks after holding a phone call with US Treasury Secretary Bessent on the evening of last Friday.

During the call, the two sides reaffirmed their shared concern that the yen is undervalued and agreed to further strengthen cooperation.

Katayama Satsuki said she pointed out to Bessent during the call that Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae has stated she is not a "reflationist," a remark that appeared intended to reassure Bessent that the Prime Minister is not seeking to implement unconstrained expansionary policies.

Katayama made these comments as, on Tuesday morning, the yen hovered around 157.3 per dollar, while a month earlier the exchange rate had touched the 160 level.