Japan intervenes to prop up yen for first time since 1998

Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda listens to a question at a news conference following a policy meeting on Thursday in Tokyo. The central bank left its negative interest rate unchanged but it emerged later that authorities had intervened to prop up the sinking yen. (Photo: The Yomiuri Shimbun/Bloomberg)


Japan has intervened in currency markets for the first time since 1998 to support the yen, seeking to stem a 20% plunge against the dollar this year amid a widening policy divergence with the United States.

The yen rose as much as 2.3% against the dollar, pulling back sharply from the lows of the day when it had breached a key psychological level of 145, as top currency official Masato Kanda said the government was taking “bold action”.