Finance chiefs from the Group of 20 started a two-day meeting Thursday night in the U.S. with Japan expected to make an effort to play down concerns about its bold quantitative easing measures, which are weakening the yen and threatening to harm other economies.
The G-20 members are expected to basically confirm that they will refrain from competitive currency devaluation and not target exchange rates for competitive purposes, as agreed in their last meeting in February.
Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda and Finance Minister Taro Aso are likely to explain that the drastic easing steps are intended to bolster Japan's economy while reaffirming that they will refrain from competitive devaluation as the government seeks to end deflation without structural reform.