Japan is no longer in deflation and does not need excessively loose monetary policy aimed at raising inflation, Economic Policy Minister Minoru Kiuchi said, as officials sought to reassure markets that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is not pursuing reflationary policies. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent viewed Takaichi’s policies as appropriate for current conditions but questioned whether Japan had explained them clearly enough to investors. Officials concluded around late August that the message needed to be communicated more clearly. Kiuchi declined to elaborate on a government representative’s caution over further Bank of Japan rate increases in the September meeting summary, saying monetary policy decisions belong to the central bank. He also distinguished Takaichi’s approach from the massive stimulus associated with former premier Shinzo Abe’s 2013 Abenomics policies.