US and Japan Unite to Support Yen Amid Record-Low Levels

Japan and the United States coordinated an intervention in the foreign exchange market to stabilize the yen. This was the first joint effort by the two countries since the financial crisis of 1998, a period of nearly 28 years.

The intervention involved the joint purchase of yen in the New York foreign exchange market on July 31, which pushed the currency up to the lower 157 yen range against the dollar. This was after the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan intervened separately on the night of July 30 by buying yen and selling dollars.

According to sources, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had a memo on his desk during a Cabinet meeting on July 31 stating that the United States would purchase between $5 billion and $10 billion worth of yen.