Finance Minister Naoto Kan said Friday he has no plans to pressure China to adjust the yuan's exchange rate when he meets Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and other top Chinese officials this weekend in Beijing.
"I'm fully aware that this issue is very important," Kan said at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. "But I believe it would not necessarily be good to be thought of as putting pressure" on China to let the yuan appreciate.
Kan said that although the U.S. Congress is increasingly vocal on the matter, he is planning to exchange views on China's economy by reminding Beijing of Japan's painful bubble economy experience in the late 1980s, which was caused by excess liquidity.
Concerning Saturday's meeting, Kan said he has a strong interest in discussing the government's new growth strategy, with its strong emphasis on consumer demand in Asia, and wants to pave the way for creating "a win-win relationship" for the two countries.