Nikkei, Mainichi, Asahi, and Sankei wrote that Vice Minister of Finance for international affairs Kanda Masato held talks with Acting U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury Andy Baukol at the ministry on the recent currency fluctuations. Kanda told reporters after the meeting that he and Baukol agreed to closely communicate on currency movements. “Exchange rate stability is important and rapid fluctuations are undesirable,” Kanda said. “We will closely monitor developments in the foreign exchange market and their impact on the Japanese economy with a sense of urgency.” Mainichi speculated that the meeting was intended to sound a warning about the yen’s rapid depreciation.