Japan and the US confirm a rare joint intervention to support the yen

Japan has confirmed that it intervened in the currency market to support the yen, and that it did so together with the United States. In a statement dated 3 August 2026, Finance Minister Katayama Satsuki said the Ministry of Finance had purchased yen on 31 July, US Eastern Time, in coordination with the US Department of the Treasury.

What the statement said

• The operation was carried out to counter what the minister called excessive volatility and disorderly movements in the yen over recent months.
• It was based on the US–Japan finance ministers' joint statement issued in September 2025.
• Japan stands ready to carry out further joint intervention.
• Japan plans to use the Federal Reserve's FIMA repo facility in the future. That facility lets foreign central banks and monetary authorities raise dollars temporarily against their holdings of US Treasury securities, without selling them.

Why a joint operation matters

Japan intervenes on its own from time to time, but action alongside the United States is rare. The last time the two countries bought yen together was in 1998. Coordination sends a stronger message, because it shows that Washington also sees the currency's moves as disorderly and is willing to stand behind the operation.

The statement did not give the size of the intervention. Japan's Ministry of Finance publishes its intervention data monthly and quarterly, so the amounts appear in its official releases after the event.

Where the yen stands now

On 14 September, USD/JPY was trading in the low 150s according to TradingView prices. The Bank of Japan, which kept its policy rate at 1.00% in July, meets again on 17–18 September; see the BoJ preview.

For traders, confirmed intervention changes the risk of holding large short-yen positions: officials have shown they are willing to act, and to act together. How and why governments step in is explained in currency intervention explained.