Japan’s finance ministry has issued a rare warning to X, formerly known as Twitter, urging the platform to take down an account impersonating Masato Kanda, the country’s top currency diplomat.
The ministry asked users not to follow or comment on the posts from the impersonation account. Masato Kanda is a significant figure in Japan’s efforts to stabilize the value of the yen, and his public statements can influence the currency’s value against other major currencies.
The impersonation account, which had around 550 followers, had not made any comments related to the yen or financial markets. It had only posted five times, with the latest post attempting to impersonate Mr. Kanda’s trip to Ukraine.
Following Japan’s request, the fake account now appears to have been suspended by X, with a notice on the platform indicating a violation of Twitter rules.
The yen has traditionally been considered a safe-haven currency in the global financial markets. However, it has depreciated against the US dollar in recent months due to Japan’s central bank keeping its main interest rate below zero while other central banks raised their interest rates, making their currencies more attractive to investors.
The Bank of Japan recently announced it would allow rates to rise more freely, but the yen remains weak against the dollar, reaching its lowest level in over a month at 143.89.
