US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent just offered what amounts to a eulogy for one of the most consequential economic experiments of the 21st century. Speaking on August 30, Bessent said Japan has likely reached the conclusion of Abenomics, the reflationary program launched by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over a decade ago. His advice to Tokyo: don’t fight it, let the transition happen organically.
The comments landed a day before Bessent is scheduled to sit down with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda at the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, running August 31 to September 1. Markets are already betting heavily on what comes next, with traders pricing an 80% to 90% probability of a BOJ rate hike in September.
Bessent’s quiet confidence in Ueda
Bessent didn’t just comment on the macro picture. He went out of his way to praise Ueda personally, calling the BOJ governor an “underrated, savvy market operator.” That’s a notable endorsement from a Treasury Secretary who has consistently advocated for the BOJ to make rate decisions independently of political pressure.
The praise aligns with a broader shift in Japan’s political landscape. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has signaled a willingness to reduce government intervention in monetary affairs, a departure from the heavy-handed coordination that defined the Abe era. Bessent framed this as a positive development, arguing that with less aggressive intervention from Tokyo, the benefits of Abenomics can flourish on their own terms.
