U.S. President George W. Bush signaled Tuesday he will urge Japan to refrain from weakening the yen through market intervention when he meets Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo on Friday.
"I will remind him that our position, when it comes to currency exchanges, is that the market ought to decide the relative values of currencies based upon the fiscal policy of each government, the monetary policy of each government, the future economic picture of each country," Bush said in an interview with Fuji Television Network Inc.
At the same time, Bush said he will tell Koizumi that the U.S. is maintaining a policy of favoring a strong dollar.
In a separate interview with Asian journalists ahead of his upcoming Asia-Pacific tour, Bush voiced readiness to press Chinese President Hu Jintao to adopt a more flexible currency system that would allow market forces to set exchange rates.