The move underscored both countries\u2019 resolve to prevent a sell-off in the yen and Japanese government bonds (JGB) from causing global spillovers, such as adding upward pressure on already rising US Treasury yields, analysts say.<\/p>\n
The joint intervention is the first since 2011\u2019s coordinated action to weaken the yen after the devastating earthquake in eastern Japan.<\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday the US is helping Japan to prop up the yen as a sign of friendship and to help the world economy.<\/p>\n
Aside from helping Japan as a strategic ally in Asia, the intervention would help the US address concerns over extraordinary weakness in the yen that offsets the boost from Trump\u2019s tariffs, analysts say.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Japan\u2019s finance ministry (MOF) said Friday\u2019s yen-buying intervention with the U.S. Treasury Department \u201ccountered excessive volatility and disorderly movements in the Japanese yen in recent months\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not hesitate conducting further coordinated intervention,\u201d Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n
Katayama declined to comment when reporters asked whether the authorities stepped in on Monday.<\/p>\n
The yen surged more than 1 per cent to 155.20 per US dollar after the announcement, its strongest since early May and well off the 40-year low near 164 hit in July, as traders remained on alert for more intervention.<\/a><\/p>\n SEE ALSO<\/p>\n The yen rose as much as 1 per cent against the Singapore dollar in early Aug 3 trading. It was up about 0.7 per cent at 122.12 per Singapore dollar at 12.23 pm Singapore time. At that level, the yen had strengthened about 3.5 per cent from its pre-intervention level against the Singapore dollar on Jul 30.<\/p>\n \u201cThe joint intervention is the culmination of Japan\u2019s alliance with the United States,\u201d Japan\u2019s top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura told reporters on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will continue to align (currency policy) with the Bank of Japan\u2019s monetary policy,\u201d he said, suggesting the government will work hand in hand with the central bank in arresting yen falls.<\/p>\n US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also confirmed Friday\u2019s effort, adding Washington \u201cwill not hesitate to participate in further joint intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe strongly support Japan\u2019s decisive market and monetary steps to correct the substantial undervaluation of the yen,\u201d Bessent said in a separate statement on X, repeating his calls for further interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan.<\/p>\n The remarks put the spotlight on the BOJ, which on Jul 31 kept rates on hold<\/a> but signalled scope for a rate hike as soon as its next policy meeting in September.<\/p>\n \u201cThe comments by Mimura and Bessent must be music to the ears of hawks within the BOJ,\u201d said Naomi Muguruma, chief bond strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like a September rate hike is a done deal. It won\u2019t make sense for the BOJ to wait until October and cause another bout of yen declines.\u201d<\/p>\n The two-year JGB yield, which is most sensitive to near-term monetary policy moves, briefly hit 1.545 per cent on Monday, the highest since 1995, as markets priced in the chance of an early rate hike.<\/p>\n US Fed facility available<\/p>\n Japan has been struggling to curb a relentless drop in the yen that pushes up import prices and stokes broader inflation, hitting households\u2019 wallets and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi\u2019s public approval ratings.<\/p>\n Tokyo\u2019s solo intervention conducted between late April and early May caused only a brief yen rebound. The BOJ\u2019s June rate hike to a 31-year high of 1 per cent<\/a> also gave the struggling currency little lasting boost.<\/p>\n![\"Currency-related](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/31a1f4a0c702d7fdea3a1a95ffe3531273f658195a96fc815ea52551c491153b.webp\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3a487a416abbc3261d22ca80b27f394631924532e63f11f64c4ae85e3775f536.webp\")
Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama spoke to the media about the US-Japan joint forex action at the finance ministry in Tokyo on Aug 3. PHOTO: REUTERS BOJ in spotlight<\/p>\n