According to CoinMeta, the United States and Japan have made joint efforts to combat speculative bets against the weak Japanese yen. After months of preparation, the two sides have reached a rare public consensus on exchange rate issues. Japanese Finance Minister Masayuki Katsumata stated that they held about 10 discussions on the exchange rate and had an in-depth exchange that lasted three and a half hours during talks in May. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bennett's support for the yen provides Tokyo authorities with new tools to help them cope with the pressure on living costs caused by the yen's depreciation. As the yen has fallen to a forty-year low, cooperation between Tokyo and Washington has become increasingly close, and their dialogue on exchange rate issues has also become more frequent.