Japan’s Finance Minister, Satsuki Katayama, warned this Friday (06/19/2026) that the archipelago’s authorities could take “decisive measures”, after the yen surpassed the barrier of 161 units per dollar and reached its lowest level since July 2024.
“We are ready to take decisive action if speculative movements occur,” Katayama said at a press conference, after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) raised short-term benchmark interest rates to 1 percent on Tuesday, the highest level in more than three decades.
The Japanese currency was exchanged at the opening of the Tokyo Stock Exchange at 161.10 units per dollar, although it was briefly traded during the trading day in New York around 161.80 yen per dollar, according to the Japanese economic newspaper Nikkei.
The fall of the yen responds to expectations that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will bet on raising interest rates in the coming months, which it kept unchanged on Wednesday in a range between 3.5 and 3.75%, and also published its quarterly economic projections report.
The Japanese currency has erased the gains obtained after intervention in the currency market between April and May by the Government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the Bank of Japan, unleashing speculation about new measures.
These stabilization operations amounted to 11.73 trillion yen (about 63 billion euros), as announced at the end of last month by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, causing an appreciation of the Japanese currency from 160 units per dollar to 155 during the first days of May.
mg (efe, reuters)
