Business & Economics
Tokyo, Washington & Seoul Launch Two-Day Yen-Buying Blitz After 40-Year Low
On 30–31 July 2026 Japan spent an estimated ¥8–9 trillion in back-to-back New York-hour interventions—this time joined by South Korea and tacitly the U.S.—knocking USD/JPY from a 40-year trough near ¥164 to below ¥158 and forcing the Bank of Japan to hint it could speed up rate hikes.
Focusing Facts
- Mizuho and Bloomberg tallied Thursday’s 30 July intervention at roughly ¥8.45 trillion (≈$52.8 bn), Japan’s largest single-day FX operation on record.
- The yen jumped over 3 % intraday on 30 July and another 1 % on 31 July, while derivatives pricing lifted the probability of a BoJ September 2026 hike to ~40 %, up 10 ppts in a week.
- For the first time since the 2011 post-quake episode, South Korea’s authorities simultaneously sold dollars to support the won, creating a rare Japan–Korea joint action that coincided with U.S. Fed ‘rate checks.’
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