TOKYO (MNI) – Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Wednesday
that Japan and China are expected to maintain direct yen-yuan trading
and cross-holdings of each other’s government bonds despite the
simmering bilateral territorial dispute.

“I think it is unlikely to terminate” what he and his Chinese
counterpart agreed on earlier this year, Azumi told reporters.

The direct yen-yuan trading, which began on June 1 in Tokyo and
Shanghai, is aimed at facilitating trade settlements between the two
countries and lowering currency transaction costs.

Azumi said Beijing should crack down on violent anti-Japanese
protests in China that have damaged Japanese factories and retail
stores. The two countries should “calmly” defuse the long-standing row
over small islands, he said.

tokyo@marketnews.com
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