Japan could be asked to provide funds to the International Monetary Fund if the lender needs to mobilize additional resources to prevent the eurozone debt crisis from sparking global economic turmoil, Christine Lagarde, the fund's managing director, said Saturday.
Speaking at a news conference in Tokyo after talks with Finance Minister Jun Azumi, Lagarde also showed a degree of understanding for Japan's recent interventions in the currency market, suggesting they were necessary to address excess exchange rate volatility and disorder. Some countries have criticized Japan over the interventions, the most recent of which took place in October.
While stressing that the IMF has no immediate need to boost its resources, Lagarde said, "I know equally well that I can rely on my major shareholders, particularly Japan, the second-largest shareholder, to be up to the task . . . of increasing the resources of the IMF."