The Japanese Finance Ministry has again warned that authorities are ready to enter the foreign exchange market if there is excessive volatility or speculative activity against the yen.
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama stressed that the government's stance has not changed and that firm action can be taken to stabilize currency movements if the situation requires it.
The statement was made as the market awaits monthly intervention data for the period April 28 to May 27, which is expected to confirm the Japanese authorities' recent intervention in the currency market.
Although government officials are still reluctant to officially confirm any operations, the market believes that Japan entered the market on April 30 after the yen surged sharply. Speculation has also arisen that the yen-buying operation will continue in the following days.
In Friday morning trading in Tokyo, the yen was trading around 159.29 against the US dollar, approaching the psychological level of 160 that is often considered a critical level for possible government intervention.
The data, which will be published late Friday, will only show the total value of interventions over the past month without revealing the exact date of the operation. If confirmed, it would be Japan's first currency market intervention since July 2024.
A Bloomberg analysis based on central bank current account data and money market estimates suggests Japanese authorities may have spent up to ¥10 trillion to support the yen through separate operations.
Before speculation of intervention in late April, Katayama and Japan's top currency official Atsushi Mimura had been raising warnings about excessive yen movements that were out of line with economic fundamentals.
