Bessent says Japan 'behind the curve' in monetary tightening, in Bloomberg interview

TOKYO, Aug 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Japan is being late in handling monetary tightening during an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Bessent also said that U.S. Treasury yields are feeling the impact of overseas developments, including from Japan and Germany.

"There's definitely leakage from — the Japanese have an inflation problem," Bessent said in the interview.

Bessent mentioned that he had spoken with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda. "My opinion, not his — they're behind the curve. So they're going to be hiking," he added.

The U.S. Federal Reserve should lower the policy interest rate at least by 1.5%, Bessent also said, suggesting the central bank execute the rate cut by 50 basis points in September.