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Japan and United States Conduct Rare Joint Intervention to Support Yen

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21 sources across 13 countries · 2 of them are linked to a state

Who reported this

  • Asahi Shimbun Japan · Centre-left · Asahi Shimbun Company (family and employee held)
  • Kyodo News Japan · Centre · Non-profit publisher cooperative
  • NHK Japan · Centre · Public · Statutory corporation, reception-fee funded
  • The Japan Times Japan · Centre · News2u Holdings
  • Der Spiegel Germany · Centre-left · ~50% staff-owned
  • Sueddeutsche Zeitung Germany · Centre-left · Sudwestdeutsche Medien Holding
  • Frankfurter Allgemeine Germany · Centre-right · FAZIT-Stiftung (foundation)
  • BBC News United Kingdom · Centre · Public · Licence fee, royal charter
  • Financial Times United Kingdom · Centre · Nikkei Inc.
  • Reuters United Kingdom · Centre · Thomson Reuters Corporation
  • Le Monde France · Centre-left · Fonds pour l'independance de la presse
  • France 24 France · Centre · Public · France Medias Monde (French state holding)
  • Infobae Argentina · Centre-right · Daniel Hadad
  • The Daily Star Bangladesh · Centre · Mediaworld Ltd
  • Telex Hungary · Centre · Reader-funded, staff-owned
  • The Jakarta Post Indonesia · Centre-left · PT Bina Media Tenggara
  • The Jerusalem Post Israel · Centre-right · Mirkaei Tikshoret (Eli Azur)
  • Al Jazeera Qatar · Centre-left · State-affiliated · Qatari government funded
  • The Straits Times Singapore · Centre-right · State-affiliated · SPH Media Trust; management shares under the NPPA
  • Taipei Times Taiwan · Centre-left · Liberty Times Group
  • Associated Press United States · Centre · Non-profit news cooperative

What the colours mean

  • Left
  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.

Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.

The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.

Japan and the United States conducted a coordinated yen buying intervention on Friday to stop the Japanese currency from falling to 40 year lows. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama confirmed the action on Monday, stating that the move was intended to counter excessive volatility and disorderly movements. This marks the first joint market intervention between the two nations since 2011, when they coordinated to weaken the yen following a devastating earthquake and tsunami. Both Katayama and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that they would not hesitate to conduct further joint interventions if necessary.

President Donald Trump confirmed the U.S. involvement on Sunday, describing the action as a signal of friendship and a benefit to the global economy. He noted that Japan had requested help because of the weakening currency. Following the announcements, the yen surged to the 155 level against the U.S. dollar, recovering from recent lows near 164. Analysts estimate the scale of the intervention varied, with some sources citing figures around 53 billion dollars while others suggested a range between 37.5 and 44 billion dollars.

Japan has struggled with a relentless currency drop that has increased import costs and fueled inflation, which has impacted the approval ratings of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Some analysts suggest the U.S. is also concerned that instability in Japanese government bonds could push up U.S. Treasury yields. In response to the volatility, Treasury Secretary Bessent expressed support for the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates, and indicated the U.S. might increase the size of a Federal Reserve repurchase facility to provide temporary dollar liquidity to Japan.

Outlets with a center lean focused on the technical details of the currency alliance and the economic risks of volatility. Center left sources emphasized the impact of the yen's fall on the purchasing power of the Japanese population and the personal motivations of President Trump. Center right sources highlighted the strategic nature of the alliance and the potential for a new phase of economic policy under Prime Minister Takaichi.

How each side framed it

Centre-left
Highlighted the negative impact of the weak yen on Japanese citizens' purchasing power and framed Trump's comments as gestures of friendship.
Centre
Focused on the technical aspects of the intervention, the history of the Japan-U.S. alliance, and the broader economic implications for bond yields.
Centre-right
Emphasized the strategic importance of the bilateral alliance and the potential for the intervention to correct a substantial undervaluation of the currency.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.