Japan plans to seek continued cooperation from G7

Japan plans to seek continued cooperation from the Group of Seven countries at a meeting this month, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Tuesday, after joint G7 currency intervention last month to halt yen strength in the wake of a devastating earthquake.

"After the joint intervention by the G7, I want to express gratitude and seek continued cooperation," Noda told a news conference after a cabinet meeting.

G7 sources told on Monday that finance chiefs from the group will meet in Washington on April 14 with the economic impact of Japan's triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis high on their agenda.
"The nuclear power problem is ongoing but I want to explain (to the G7 and G20 countries) what the government has done since the quake, and the country's current situation," Noda said.

The G7 groups the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan. They would meet just ahead of a scheduled April 15 gathering of officials from the wider group of G20 nations, which also includes emerging-market powers such as China, India and Brazil.

The G7 countries carried out a rare coordinated intervention in the currency markets on March 18 after the yen shot up to a record high of 76.25 to the dollar, on speculation that Japanese investors were repatriating overseas funds after the earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan's northeast coast.

Japan's economy is expected to suffer hundreds of billions of dollars in damage from the disasters, which have also disrupted global supply lines for products from cars to electronics.