![X Requested to Suspend Fake Account of Japan’s Top Finance Diplomat X Requested to Suspend Fake Account of Japan’s Top Finance Diplomat](https://i0.wp.com/i.gadgets360cdn.com/large/japan_flag_unsplash_Romo_A_large_1650441926571.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
Japan’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) warned on Thursday that the country’s top currency diplomat, Masato Kanda, had a fake account on social media Monetary intervention occurs.
In a rare English-language post on
“The Treasury Department is currently requesting X (formerly Twitter) to suspend the impersonation account. Thank you for your cooperation” explainin its official account.
The account, which goes by the name “Masato Kanda” and has the user ID “@Jgghkj_,” appears to have been created in March and has only posted four posts to date, including three photos of Kanda posted on March 1. The latest post, posted at 3:56 pm (0656 GMT), appears to mimic Kanda’s recent trip to Ukraine.
Japan’s Finance Ministry announced that Kanda traveled to Ukraine on Wednesday to explain Japan’s support for the country.
The fake account is followed by about 5,000 users and currently has just over 550 followers. The account does not make any comments about the Japanese yen or financial markets.
Kanda, Japan’s vice-minister of finance for international affairs, has been at the center of the country’s effort to stem the sharp depreciation of the yen since last year, overseeing record buying of yen and selling of U.S. dollars late last year.
Ahead of the Bank of Japan’s latest policy meeting on July 27-28, Kanda made a rare comment on the possibility of a policy adjustment by the Bank of Japan and warned that market authorities would consider all options to deal with excessive yen volatility.
The Bank of Japan surprised markets last week by making changes to its bond yield control program, allowing interest rates to rise more freely.
The yen weakened against the dollar on Thursday, hitting 143.89, its lowest level since July 7, as the Bank of Japan announced emergency bond purchases to curb a surge in 10-year bond yields.
With the yen again approaching 145 against the dollar, the level that triggered Japan’s first yen-buying intervention since 1998 last September, markets are closely watching the Japanese finance ministry’s next move.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
Svlook