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July 12, 2026
 

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YEN

Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama poses for a photo ahead of a G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Paris on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 19, 2026
Japan ready to act on foreign exchange volatility
Rising U.S. Treasury yields have fueled market speculation that Washington may become sensitive to large-scale yen-buying, dollar-selling intervention by Japan.
An electronic screen displays the yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar, euro and other foreign currencies in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 16, 2026
Curious yen spikes have traders gaming Japan ‘warning shots’
Investors and strategists are debating whether Japanese authorities are trying to stem further weakness in the yen through smaller operations.
Alphabet, the parent of Google, sold ¥576.5 billion ($3.6 billion) in bonds in the largest ever yen deal by a non-Japanese company as competition to fund data centers and AI infrastructure intensifies.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 15, 2026
Alphabet sells biggest yen bond on record by foreign issuer
The Google parent sold ¥576.5 billion ($3.6 billion) of bonds as competition to fund centers and AI infrastructure intensifies.
While refraining from confirming intervention to support the yen, Japan’s top currency official said authorities are prepared to respond on all fronts to speculative moves.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 11, 2026
Yen bears retreat as intervention seen capping currency weakness
The pullback followed multiple rounds of intervention by Japanese authorities starting April 30 and through the Golden Week holiday.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda arrives for a news conference after a BOJ policy meeting in Tokyo last month.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
May 9, 2026
Japan bets on Washington and BOJ for extra punch in yen battle
The strategy is reliant on a small cast of heavyweights and is aimed less at a dramatic turnaround than at raising the cost of betting against the yen.
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda (center) attends a monetary policy meeting with other high-ranking officials in Tokyo on April 28.
EDITORIALS
May 8, 2026
Japan pulls out the stops to halt the yen’s slide
While the yen’s dive has been abetted by speculators, the real causes of the currency’s weakness are structural.
The Nikkei stock average rose 5.6% to close at a record high of 62,833.84 Thursday, ending above 62,000 for the first time.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 7, 2026
Japan’s Nikkei soars to a record on U.S.-Iran deal optimism
The tech-heavy Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 5.6% to close at a record high of 62,833.84, ending above 62,000 for the first time ever.
Talk about Japan’s market action has dominated trader discussions in recent days, with many seeing the 160 level as a trigger point for currency officials.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 7, 2026
Yen spikes to 10-week high and sparks intervention chatter
Japan is prepared to respond on all fronts to speculative moves in the foreign exchange market, the nation’s top currency official signaled.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is ‌arranging a ‌three-day visit to Japan starting Monday, according to a source familiar with the matter.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 7, 2026
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to meet Takaichi and others next week
Bessent will speak individually with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and BOJ Gov. Kazuo Ueda during his three-day visit, sources have said.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaks during a news conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Monday.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 6, 2026
Yen rallies to build on gains spurred by recent intervention
Japan’s currency rose as much as 1.8% to ¥155.04 per dollar in Asia trading, its strongest level since Feb. 24, before paring the move to trade around ¥156.37.
A Finance Ministry official cited an International Monetary Fund rule on Monday noting that three days of intervention count as a single market operation.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 5, 2026
Japan can intervene twice more before November under IMF rules, official notes
The comments came after the yen surged last Thursday following reported intervention by the authorities, and also saw a number of intraday rallies during days that followed.
The yen has traded in a narrow ¥158 to ¥159 range against the dollar for two months as Japan steps up efforts to contain further weakness.
COMMENTARY
May 5, 2026
‘Keep phones on,’ Tokyo warns as yen battle intensifies
Traders are going to need to hold onto their devices going forward, as these kinds of interventions are becoming the new normal.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama declined to comment on potential FX intervention on Monday, saying instead on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank’s annual meeting in Uzbekistan that markets had seen speculative trading.
JAPAN
May 4, 2026
Yen briefly jumps in Asia trade, putting investors on high alert
The whipsaw trading came after Japan likely spent around ¥5.4 trillion ($34.5 billion) last week to support the yen.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama
BUSINESS / Markets
May 3, 2026
Finance minister declines to comment on yen intervention for now
“As finance minister, at this stage I’m not in a position to comment,” Katayama told reporters in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it needed to hold rates steady because “developments in the Middle East are contributing to a high level of uncertainty about the economic outlook.”
BUSINESS / Economy
May 2, 2026
The world’s central banks are wrestling with a gigantic problem
Surging inflation, an economic slowdown, and uncertainty over how long the energy shock will last has forced central banks to adjust.
An electronic board displays the foreign exchange rate of the yen against the dollar along a street in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Markets / FOCUS
May 2, 2026
Japan determined to prop up yen through intervention
Many analysts believe the effects of the latest intervention will be short-lived as the factors that contribute to a weaker yen remain unchanged.
The yen was back in ¥150-to-the-dollar territory after reports of intervention by the Japanese government.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 1, 2026
Japan mum on yen intervention, heavy on jawboning, ahead of long holiday weekend
Multiple reports say that the government did seek to prop up the currency, and traders are bracing for another round.
Pedestrians walk past a stock quotation board showing the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen, outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 1, 2026
Yen soars as Japan intervenes after issuing ‘final’ warning
Until the government stepped in, the currency had been trading close to its cheapest levels in four decades.
The yen is trading at levels last seen in July 2024.
BUSINESS / Markets
Apr 30, 2026
Yen, Japanese government bonds and Tokyo stocks decline as oil prices spike
The Japanese currency is at its weakest since July 2024 and at levels that could trigger intervention.
New ¥1,000 Showa Era commemorative coins will be priced at ¥34,800 apiece.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2026
Japan to issue coins marking 100th anniversary of Showa Era
Made of pure silver, the Showa coin has a diameter of 40 millimeters and weighs 31.1 grams.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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