Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama spoke with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent by phone on Friday and commented later in the day that the two will meet in person on Monday.

The call came just days into the new Japanese administration — as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi balances political interests and faces skeptical markets — and as Japan and the United States continue to implement a complex and unprecedented trade deal.

“I conveyed that under the new Takaichi administration, the Japan-U.S. relationship — founded on shared fundamental values — remains extremely important, and that we hope to work together on a range of issues going forward,” Katayama said after the phone call with Bessent.