Japan Asks X to Remove Fake FX Diplomat Account

Japan’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) issued a cautionary statement on Thursday regarding a fake account on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, now called “X,” that was impersonating Masato Kanda, the MOF’s top currency diplomat. This incident raised concerns in the market about potential currency intervention due to the yen’s recent decline to a one-month low.

In a rare use of English, the MOF posted on its official X account, clarifying that neither Masato Kanda nor his staff had an authentic presence on the platform. The MOF urged users not to follow or interact with the impersonation account and requested that X suspend the fake account, which was promptly done.

The false account, using the name “Masato Kanda” and the user ID “@Jgghkj_,” was established in March and had only made five posts so far. These posts included three images of Kanda, seemingly from March 1, and the most recent post attempted to mimic Kanda’s recent trip to Ukraine, an official event announced by the MOF.

Masato Kanda, who holds the position of Japan’s vice-minister of finance for international affairs, has played a pivotal role in the country’s efforts to stabilize the declining yen. He oversaw actions such as yen purchases and dollar sales in the past year. Ahead of the Bank of Japan’s latest policy meeting on July 27-28, Kanda addressed rumors about potential adjustments in monetary policy and cautioned that authorities would explore all possibilities to manage the yen’s excessive volatility.

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As the yen’s value slid further on Thursday, reaching its lowest point against the US dollar since July 7 at 143.89, the Bank of Japan responded by announcing emergency bond purchases to control the surge in 10-year bond yields. Given that the yen’s value is approaching 145 per dollar, a threshold that prompted Japan’s first intervention to buy yen since 1998 in September of the previous year, market observers are closely monitoring the Ministry of Finance’s next steps.