Tokyo and Washington officially confirm joint intervention to support the yen

Japan's Ministry of Finance and the US Treasury have officially confirmed the joint yen buying intervention carried out on Friday 31 July 2026 (9 Mordad 1405). The confirmation followed remarks by US President Donald Trump on Sunday and was reported by Al Jazeera in the early hours of Monday 3 August 2026 (12 Mordad 1405). It is the first coordinated action by the two countries since 2011, and comes with the yen near a 40 year low.

In its statement, Japan's Finance Ministry said the intervention "countered excessive volatility and disorderly movements in the Japanese yen in recent months" and added that it "will not hesitate to conduct further joint intervention". US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also confirmed Friday's action, saying Washington "will not hesitate to participate in further joint intervention". Asked by a reporter why the United States was helping, Trump said: "They have a weakening yen, and they wanted a little bit of help. And we're always there for Japan."

The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 157.07 yen after Trump's remarks, well off the 40 year high near 164 yen hit late last month, but rose back to 157.70 yen after the Japanese Finance Ministry's statement. Bank of Japan data indicate Tokyo may have sold as much as $58.97 billion to buy yen on Thursday 30 July. South Korea also stepped in to buy its won on Thursday, and the Bank of Japan on Friday gave its most explicit signal yet of an early rate hike while keeping monetary policy unchanged. The dollar index is among the variables affecting the world gold price, and through it Iran's gold and currency markets.