US and Japan Unite to Prop Up Weakening Yen in Historic Economic Move

Japan and the United States have taken joint action to support the weakening yen, marking a historic shift in their economic cooperation. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama is expected to announce on Monday that Tokyo and Washington acted together in the currency market last week to arrest excessive yen declines.

According to Reuters sources, Japanese and U.S. authorities conducted rounds of yen purchases, the first joint intervention in 15 years, seeking to prop up the battered currency. This move follows President Donald Trump's statement on Sunday that the United States is helping Japan to support the yen as a sign of friendship and to help the world economy.

The dollar fell 0.2% to 157.07 yen after Trump's remarks, and market sources indicate that Japan may have sold as much as $58.97 billion to buy yen during the intervention. This effort is aimed at curbing the yen's weakness, which has been increasing import prices and stoking broader inflation in Japan.

The Bank of Japan also offered its most explicit signal yet of an early rate hike on Friday, even as it kept monetary policy steady. South Korea stepped in to buy its won currency on Thursday, a sign of broader policy coordination in East Asia.