U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks as he and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer hold a press conference on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 15, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday the yen will find its own level if the Bank of Japan follows "proper monetary policy."

Bessent made the remarks to reporters when asked whether the yen's recent level was reasonable or a bit too weak.

In August, he said the BOJ would likely be raising interest rates, as it was behind the curve in dealing with the risk of inflation.

The BOJ exited a decade-long, massive stimulus program last year and raised its key interest rate to 0.5% in January. It has kept rates steady since then, with Governor Kazuo Ueda citing the need to scrutinize the impact of U.S. tariffs and slowing global demand.

The slow pace of BOJ rate hikes has weakened the yen, pushing up import costs and keeping consumer inflation above the BOJ's 2% target for well over three years.

(Reporting by David Lawder and Leika Kihara; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Paul Simao)