Washington, Aug. 2 (Jiji Press)--U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that U.S. authorities conducted a yen-buying intervention in the currency market at the request of Japan. "They have a weakening yen, and they wanted a little bit of help," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that the United States would benefit from the intervention. "It's also good for the world economy." The intervention was "a signal of friendship" with Japan, the president said. "We're always there for Japan." "We have a good relationship with Japan, we're...very, very strong financially," he also said. "Japan's been very good to us." Japanese and U.S. authorities carried out a coordinated yen-buying operation Friday, U.S. Eastern time. It was the first coordinated intervention by the two countries since shortly after the March 2011 powerful earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan. The last concerted yen-buying operation was conducted in June 1998, during the Asian financial crisis. According to U.S. officials, the Treasury Department, in an unusual move, notified several financial institutions in advance of the possibility of conducting a yen-buying intervention. Coordinated interventions are more difficult to deploy than single-handed actions but have bigger impacts on financial markets. They are considered the last resort for stopping excessive foreign exchange movements. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]