Japan just spent roughly $72 billion trying to prop up the yen. It didn’t work.
The Japanese currency has slid to 162.83 per US dollar, a level not seen in four decades, despite the Ministry of Finance executing record-scale buying operations in late April and early May 2026. Finance Minister Katayama has now promised “bold action” to arrest the decline, warning markets against what officials describe as “one-sided” currency movements.
A $72 billion Band-Aid
The numbers tell a painful story. On April 30 alone, the MOF deployed approximately 5.5 trillion yen, roughly $35 billion, in a single intervention. Total spending during the spring 2026 intervention campaign reached nearly 11.7 trillion yen, or between $72 billion and $73.5 billion depending on the exchange rate at the time.
The Bank of Japan has also done its part, hiking interest rates to 1%. The gap between US and Japanese rates remains wide enough that carry traders continue to bet against the yen.
