TOKYO, March 18 (Reuters) – Japan and Germany agreed on Saturday to coordinate closely on financial jitters stemming from problems among Western banks while carefully monitoring global markets and the economy, a Japanese finance ministry official told Reuters.
The agreement came in a 45-minute meeting between Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, who visited Tokyo for bilateral government consultations.
Bank stocks globally have been hit since Silicon Valley Bank collapsed and Credit Suisse was forced to tap $54 billion in central bank funding, raising questions about other weaknesses in the financial system.
The ministers met as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida began their first government hearing, involving several cabinet members from both countries, to discuss ways to ensure economic security.
“Risk aversion has been seen in the financial markets. We will closely monitor developments and coordinate with the central bank and overseas authorities,” Suzuki told Lindner, according to the Japanese official. “Japan’s financial system remains stable as a whole.”
Both sides agreed on the need to closely monitor economic developments and coordinate as needed, the official said, without elaborating.
Japan succeeded Germany this year as chairman of the Group of Seven industrial powers, a group that also includes the UK, Canada, France, Italy and the US
Suzuki and Lindner agreed to prioritize sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and support for Kiev, while striving to agree on and implement global digital taxation, and steadily resolve developing countries’ debt in line with the Group of 20 frame, the official said. .
They agreed on the need to strengthen supply chains as an element of economic security.
Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by William Mallard
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