Japanese Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said on Friday he expects the Group of Seven's statement on currencies after a meeting this weekend to be little different from its previous stance. "We have a shared understanding on currencies. I don't think it will be much different this time," he told a news conference. G7 finance ministers have kept the wording on currencies unchanged since a meeting in Boca Raton last February, when they said exchange rates should reflect economic fundamentals and that excessive volatility was undesirable.
The statement also reiterated a call for greater flexibility in exchange rates, a phrase first adopted at a Dubai meeting in September 2003 which prompted speculation that the G7 was pushing China to ease its currency peg. Member countries have said it was not aimed at a specific country. At the London meeting to be held on Friday and Saturday, Tanigaki said he wanted frank discussions on problems concerning China and other emerging countries.
China's economic policies affect not only Japan but also the global economy, he said.
China, as well as India, Brazil, Russia and South Africa will be taking part in some of the London G7 talks.
Tanigaki will leave for London later in the day to attend the meeting.
The G7 is comprised of the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada.