Tourists check their phones outside a tax free shop in Tokyo on June 23, 2026, as the weak yen continues to draw foreign shoppers. The yen, weighed down in particular by the prospect of monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve (Fed), approached its lowest level in 40 years. (AFP/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds)
Japan's finance minister said Tuesday that Tokyo was ready to take "resolute measures" as the yen came within a whisker of its 40-year low against the dollar.The currency has been sliding for several years and has come under renewed pressure because of the Middle East war and the gap in US and Japanese interest rates.
Japan and the United States "are in a firm agreement that we would take resolute measures whenever necessary", Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said after talking to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a conversation confirmed by the Japanese government.
The comments suggest Japan is prepared to intervene again in financial markets to support the yen, having spent more than $70 billion doing so last month.
Reports about the conversation with Bessent on Monday helped the yen recover from a low of 161.93 per dollar, just short of the 161.96 last seen in December 1996.
