Japan spent record ¥11.73 trillion defending the yen in April-May, finance ministry data show

Japan's Ministry of Finance disclosed on Friday, May 29 that authorities spent a record ¥11.73 trillion (about $73.6 billion) on yen-buying intervention between April 28 and May 27 — the largest amount ever deployed in a month-long reporting period, according to the ministry's monthly foreign exchange intervention release. The previous record of ¥9.79 trillion was spent over two days in April and May 2024.

The ministry did not disclose the specific dates or how many times the interventions were conducted, but the first operation reportedly came on April 30, after the yen weakened past the politically sensitive 160-per-dollar level, marking Tokyo's first yen-buying since July 2024; market estimates put that single day's spending as high as ¥5.48 trillion (about $35 billion), just shy of the July 2024 record. The yen's slide has been driven by fallout from the Iran war, as surging energy import costs hit Japan's terms of trade while the Bank of Japan's rate gap with the Federal Reserve persists.

CNBC reported that even after Tokyo 'fired its yen bazooka twice,' traders continued testing authorities' resolve, with the currency drifting back toward the intervention zone within days.