Japan's Ministry of Finance confirmed Monday that it conducted a coordinated yen-buying operation with the U.S. Treasury on Friday, marking the first joint move by the two countries to support the yen since 1998.
The two countries spent as much as $36.58 billion buying yen on Friday and both said they will act again if needed
GREG BAKER / Getty Images
Japan's Ministry of Finance confirmed Monday that it conducted a coordinated yen-buying operation with the U.S. Treasury on Friday, marking the first joint move by the two countries to support the yen since 1998.
The intervention came after the yen had fallen to its weakest level against the dollar in roughly four decades, reaching near 164 per dollar late last month. The currency strengthened to 157.57 on Friday and was trading around 157 per dollar on Monday. Bank of Japan data suggested the total cost of Friday's operation could have reached $36.58 billion, according to Reuters.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said the operation addressed what the ministry described as "excessive volatility and disorderly movements in the Japanese yen in recent months" and was conducted in line with the U.S.-Japan Finance Ministers' Joint Statement issued in September 2025. "We will not hesitate conducting further coordinated intervention," Katayama said in a statement.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the action in a separate statement, saying "Friday's coordinated foreign exchange actions countered disorderly yen movements." Bessent added that Washington "will not hesitate to participate in further joint intervention" and said the U.S. "strongly supports Japan's decisive market and monetary steps to correct the substantial undervaluation of the yen."
President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that the U.S. had joined the operation as a gesture of support. "They wanted a little bit of help, and we're always there for Japan," Trump said. "More than anything else, it was a signal of friendship."
Japan's top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura called the joint action "the culmination of Japan's alliance with the United States," according to Reuters. Mimura also signaled that the government's approach to the currency would remain coordinated with the Bank of Japan's broader monetary stance.
Japan also disclosed intentions to draw on the Federal Reserve's Foreign and International Monetary Authorities repo facility going forward, a mechanism through which eligible foreign central banks can access short-term dollar funding by pledging U.S. Treasury securities as collateral, according to CNBC.
Their previous joint yen-buying effort dated back to 1998, when the two countries acted together amid the Asian financial crisis, according to The Wall Street Journal. In 2011, the two countries took the reverse approach, coordinating to push the yen lower in the wake of the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster.
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