Japan just spent a record $73 billion propping up the yen. Now it wants to make sure the money left over works harder.
A draft growth strategy dated June 24, 2026, outlines plans to enhance management of the Foreign Exchange Fund Special Account, the government’s primary vehicle for currency intervention. The goal: squeeze better returns out of roughly $1.3 trillion in foreign exchange reserves while maintaining the firepower needed to defend the yen when markets get ugly.
The backstory: a $73 billion month
Between April 28 and May 27, 2026, Japan conducted its largest yen-buying intervention since 2024, spending approximately 11.735 trillion yen, or about $73 billion. The trigger was familiar. USD/JPY had blown past 160, a level that Tokyo has repeatedly treated as something close to a red line.
Japan’s foreign exchange reserves dropped 5.6% in May alone, a decline large enough to raise questions about sustainability.
