--- title: "Japan Spends 11.7 Trillion Yen in One Month to Support Currency! One of the Largest Exchange Rate Interventions in Recent Years" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/288062059.md" description: "From April 28 to May 27, Japan deployed approximately 11.73 trillion yen to intervene in the foreign exchange market, marking the authorities' return to market intervention since 2024. Previous estimates based on capital flow data placed the intervention cost at around 10.08 trillion yen, with the actual scale significantly exceeding this figure. The yen continues to hover near 159, as markets believe unilateral intervention is insufficient to reverse the depreciation pressure driven by the US-Japan interest rate differential" datetime: "2026-05-29T11:43:36.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/288062059.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/288062059.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/288062059.md) --- # Japan Spends 11.7 Trillion Yen in One Month to Support Currency! One of the Largest Exchange Rate Interventions in Recent Years The Japanese government implemented record-scale foreign exchange intervention over the past month, but the yen has essentially given back all its gains, raising doubts about the effectiveness of unilateral intervention. According to Bloomberg, data released by Japan's Ministry of Finance on Friday showed that **between April 28 and May 27, Japanese authorities spent approximately 11.73 trillion yen (about $73.6 billion) buying yen,** aiming to support the domestic currency, which had approached the critical level of 160 yen per US dollar. This represents one of the largest single-month foreign exchange interventions on record for Japan and is the first such market intervention since 2024. **The scale of this intervention exceeded market expectations.** Previous reports, based on calculations of central bank capital flows, estimated the total expenditure for two rounds of intervention at approximately 10.08 trillion yen, with the officially announced figure significantly higher than this estimate. As of Friday evening, the USD/JPY pair was trading at 159.27, little changed from the pre-intervention level of 160.72 on April 30, casting doubt on the intervention's effectiveness. ## Intervention Scale Exceeds Expectations, Hinting at Multiple Rounds of Covert Operations The actual scale of intervention disclosed by the Ministry of Finance exceeded market expectations, sparking speculation about the specific number of operations and their timing. Rinto Maruyama, Senior FX and Rates Strategist at SMBC Nikko Securities, stated, "This increases the likelihood that authorities conducted covert interventions within the 158.50 to 159.50 yen range." He further pointed out that **this move could be interpreted by the market as a failure to effectively halt the yen's depreciation even with the aid of covert intervention, which may further reinforce perceptions of the limitations of unilateral intervention.** According to Bloomberg sources familiar with the matter, there was indeed buy-side intervention targeting the yen on April 30, with speculation of further operations in the following days. Notably, this intervention occurred just two days after the Bank of Japan announced it would keep policy unchanged on April 28, a scenario highly similar to that of April 2024—when the central bank's decision to hold steady at the end of the month also triggered yen weakness, subsequently prompting government market intervention. ## **Interest Rate Differentials Drive Yen Trends; Intervention Struggles to Shift Market Expectations** **The fundamental reason for the continued pressure on the yen lies in the wide US-Japan interest rate differential and inflation concerns triggered by conflicts in the Middle East.** The Bank of Japan is scheduled to announce its next policy decision on June 16, with the market widely expecting a 25 basis point rate hike, which could help narrow the interest rate gap. However, the Federal Reserve's policy path has made the market cautious about expectations for narrowing differentials. The resurgence of global inflation has dashed market bets on Fed rate cuts within the year, with several officials successively warning of upside risks to inflation. According to Bloomberg, at last month's meeting, most Fed officials warned that if inflation remains persistently above target, the central bank might need to consider raising rates. Despite the historic scale of this intervention, market participants remain reserved about its actual impact. Bart Wakabayashi, Head of State Street Bank's Tokyo Branch, said, "It certainly had an impact at the time, but I don't think they succeeded in changing the overall market expectation." He also predicted the possibility of further intervention in the future, stating, "If the market easily breaks through 160, I believe the authorities will step in again." This record-breaking intervention highlights the Japanese authorities' determination to prevent further yen depreciation. However, against the backdrop of a diverging US-Japan monetary policy landscape that is unlikely to reverse in the short term, the sustained effectiveness of unilateral intervention faces severe tests. ### Related Stocks - [UUP.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/UUP.US.md) - [USDU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/USDU.US.md) - [FXY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FXY.US.md) - [YCL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/YCL.US.md) - [YCS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/YCS.US.md) - [UDN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/UDN.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Cotton Closes Lower on Wednesday](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287832932.md) - [Tokyo inflation eases to 1.3% as Nikkei stays above 65,700](https://longbridge.com/en/news/288116781.md) - [U.S. 1-year, 11-month floating rate notes high margin 0.089%](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287794129.md) - [Federal Reserve Watch for May 29: Overreacting to Energy Price Spike Could Depress Economic Growth Unnecessarily, Bowman Says](https://longbridge.com/en/news/288105964.md) - [A Look At Nomura Micro Science (TSE:6254) Valuation After The Dividend Increase Signals Confidence In Future Growth](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287544920.md)