Japan’s top currency official has declared the country’s massive yen-buying operation a success. The yen, currently hovering right around the same level it was at before the intervention, might beg to differ.
Atsushi Mimura, Japan’s chief currency diplomat, confirmed the operation that ran from late April through late May 2026 achieved its objectives and received some degree of US support in the process.
The biggest yen defense operation on record
Between April 28 and May 27, 2026, Japan’s Ministry of Finance deployed 11.7 trillion yen, roughly $73 billion, to prop up the sliding currency. That makes it Japan’s first intervention since 2024 and the largest single intervention operation on record.
The trigger was the yen breaking past the 160 level against the dollar, eventually bottoming out at 160.72 per dollar before officials stepped in.
