Japan spent nearly $100 billion defending the yen. It lasted about a month.
The Japanese yen weakened past 160 per dollar on August 28, touching 160.20, a level not seen since late July. The move is more than a round-number milestone. It signals that one of the most expensive currency defense operations in modern history may be running out of road.
How we got here
The yen’s slide past 160 came on the back of comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, which lifted the dollar broadly and erased more than half the ground Japan had purchased through intervention.
That phrase deserves unpacking: Japan literally bought ground. From July 30 to August 26, the Ministry of Finance deployed a record 15.39 trillion yen, roughly $96.5 billion, to prop up the currency.
