Japan’s Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama put currency speculators on notice this week, warning that the government is prepared to take “strong action” as the yen teeters near levels not seen since the early 1980s.
The USD/JPY pair traded between 160 and 161.4 in mid-June 2026, flirting with a 40-year low that Tokyo clearly considers a red line.
A $73 billion problem
Japanese authorities reportedly spent a record ¥11.73 trillion, roughly $73 billion, between late April and late May 2026 trying to prop up the yen. That’s an enormous sum deployed over approximately one month. Japan’s earlier forex intervention in July 2024 totaled about ¥5.53 trillion. The recent spending more than doubled that figure.
Katayama’s comments on June 19 emphasized Japan’s readiness to act against what officials describe as “excessive speculative movements” in the foreign exchange market.
