The finance chiefs of the Group of Seven countries pledged Tuesday to avoid using monetary policy to control foreign-exchange rates, saying they should be determined by the markets — an implicit warning against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's monetary policies.
The G-7 nations "reaffirm our long-standing commitment to market determined exchange rates and to consult closely in regard to actions in foreign-exchange markets," an emergency statement said, adding, "We will not target exchange rates."
The statement was released prior to a meeting of the Group of 20 finance chiefs starting Friday in Moscow, as some major countries have criticized Abe's government, formed Dec. 26, for intentionally pushing down the yen by forcing the Bank of Japan to take drastic monetary easing steps.