Japanese yen strengthens sharply amid US and Japan intervention signals

The Japanese yen has staged one of its more convincing recoveries in recent memory, climbing roughly 3.3% against the US dollar over five trading sessions in early September 2026. The currency reached ¥152.89 to ¥154 per dollar, territory it had not visited since February. The intervention backdrop From July 30 to August 26, Japan’s Ministry of Finance executed what became a record ¥15.4 trillion, roughly $99.6 billion, in yen-buying intervention. The US Treasury stepped in alongside Japan with an estimated $5 to $10 billion of its own, marking an unusually direct form of bilateral currency coordination. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has been explicit about the relationship with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, describing ongoing coordination as a feature of the current arrangement rather than an emergency measure. On September 7 and 8, the yen rose as much as 1.4% intraday. No fresh intervention was announced, which is itself informative: the recent leg of strength appears to be market-driven, not manufactured by official buying. What is actually moving the yen The Bank of Japan is widely anticipated to raise interest rates at its September 22 meeting. Analysts ha...