A Reuters photo taken at a Camp David cabinet meeting on Friday captured Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's visible notepad, which included a "to-do" list entry reading "Buy JPY 5-10 billion" . A Treasury spokesperson declined to comment on the notebook's contents or whether any intervention occurred .
On Thursday, July 30 (New York hours), Japan conducted "massive" yen-buying, dollar-selling intervention — its first in three months — as the yen slumped to four-decade lows near 163 per dollar . South Korean authorities also stepped in to buy the won in what sources described as an unprecedented coordinated intervention, possibly with the U.S., sending a strong joint message . U.S. authorities conducted rate checks alongside Japan's Thursday intervention as a precursor signal , then escalated to outright intervention on Friday.
The yen spiked suddenly on Thursday after Japan's intervention, soaring as much as 3.3% — its biggest one-day gain in nearly two years — to briefly touch the 158 handle against the dollar . It had been trading around 163 earlier in the week and had hit a near 40-year low of 163.99 . By Friday Asian trading, the dollar recovered some ground, gaining 0.45% to around 160.175, as intervention risks kept traders wary .
No specific dollar figure for the U.S. Treasury's Friday intervention has been publicly confirmed by officials. Japan's Thursday operation was described as "massive" by Nikkei , but precise amounts are not yet available. The yen's intervention follows a $70 billion yen-buying operation Japan conducted in April and May 2026 .
The BOJ kept its benchmark interest rate steady at 1.0% on Friday, as expected, in an 8-1 vote . Board member Hajime Takata dissented, proposing an immediate hike to 1.25% . The BOJ signaled its resolve to continue raising rates, upgraded its growth forecast, and warned for the first time that underlying inflation could exceed its 2% target . The intervention and the BOJ's hawkish messaging were both responses to the yen's protracted weakness, exacerbated by an Iran war-driven energy shock that worsened Japan's import costs .