US Treasury and Japan Confirm Friday's Joint Yen Intervention, Pledge Further Coordinated Action
Key Takeaways
- •The United States and Japan conducted their first joint yen intervention since 2011, with both governments officially confirming the coordinated action and committing to repeat it if necessary.
- •Treasury Secretary Bessent endorsed Japan's monetary policy measures alongside the currency intervention, viewing both tools as complementary in addressing the yen's substantial undervaluation.
- •Japan sold approximately $58.97 billion to support the yen during New York trading hours after the currency dropped to its weakest level against the dollar since 1986.
- •Bessent signaled interest in expanding the Federal Reserve's FIMA repo facility in the coming months as a more structural support mechanism beyond one-off interventions.
- •The Bank of Japan signaled a strong likelihood of an imminent interest rate increase shortly after the coordinated intervention was executed.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Japan's Ministry of Finance have officially confirmed that Friday's coordinated foreign exchange intervention was a joint operation between the two countries, with both sides pledging to act again if needed to counter further disorderly moves in the yen.
Bessent said the coordinated actions taken on Friday successfully countered disorderly yen movements. He stated that the Treasury remains attentive and in close communication with its counterparts at Japan's Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan, and that the US would not hesitate to participate in further joint intervention.
The Treasury Secretary voiced strong support for Japan's decisive market and monetary steps aimed at correcting what he described as the substantial undervaluation of the yen. His endorsement of Japan's monetary policy approach alongside the currency intervention suggests Washington views the two tools as working in tandem. The persistent interest rate gap, driven by the US Federal Reserve holding rates higher while the Bank of Japan maintained ultra-loose policy, has been a fundamental driver of the yen's weakness by continuously pushing capital toward higher-yielding dollar assets.
Bessent also pointed to the Federal Reserve's FIMA repo facility as an important backstop supporting the effort and said he would encourage it to be upsized in the coming months, signalling consideration of a more structural support mechanism beyond one-off intervention.
Japan's Ministry of Finance confirmed separately that it had conducted coordinated yen-buying intervention with the United States on Friday, characterising the action as a response to excessive and disorderly moves in the currency. The ministry said it would not hesitate to conduct further foreign exchange intervention alongside Washington if conditions warranted.
The confirmations follow earlier reporting that the two countries had carried out their first joint yen intervention since 2011, after the currency slid to its lowest levels against the dollar since 1986. Such coordinated action among G7 nations is historically rare and typically reserved for severe market disruptions. That reporting indicated Japan sold as much as $58.97 billion to support the yen during New York trading hours, with the move coming shortly before the Bank of Japan signalled a strong chance of an imminent interest rate increase.
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With both Treasury and Japan's MOF now on record confirming the joint action and signalling readiness to intervene again, attention turns to whether the Bank of Japan will follow through on potential rate adjustments. Traders and analysts are closely watching for upcoming US inflation data and Federal Reserve policy decisions, as shifts in the broader interest rate differential will be central to the durability of the yen's stabilisation.