A Reuters photograph taken during U.S. President Donald Trump's cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday shows Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's notepad with an underlined "To Do" heading and a single entry: "Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil." — a signal that Washington is preparing to back Japan's currency, according to the image and accompanying reports.
Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil. — the underlined "To Do" heading on Scott Bessent's notepad, photographed at 11:33 ET (1533 GMT).
The photograph, taken at 11:33 ET (1533 GMT) during the on-the-record portion of the meeting, shows Bessent's name card visible on the conference table directly above the notepad. It came after reports that the U.S. Treasury had informed several banks it could intervene in the yen market on Friday and that they should "stand ready for future action." Japanese authorities had already stepped in earlier, intervening in Tokyo and driving a sharp rise in the currency during morning trading. LSEG data showed the dollar slipping from around 158.9 yen at 4:14 p.m. EDT (2014 GMT) to roughly 157.6 yen just before 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), a fall of about 0.8%.
Joint intervention reports
The Financial Times reported that the U.S. had intervened alongside Tokyo to support the yen — Washington's first intervention in support of Japan's currency in more than a decade. According to the newspaper, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York sold euros to purchase yen on behalf of the Treasury through Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Citing people familiar with the matter, the FT said it did not identify the amount of yen bought. If confirmed, the operation would mark the first time since 2011 that the U.S. Treasury directly supported the yen, when it joined other G7 countries in a coordinated market operation following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Japan's currency defence intensifies
Separate central bank data released on Friday indicated Japan may have sold as much as $58.97 billion to buy yen on Thursday, pointing to repeated efforts to support the currency. That followed around $70 billion in interventions carried out in April and May. On Thursday, the yen climbed suddenly against the dollar during New York trading hours after what market sources said was official yen buying, coordinated with intervention by South Korea. The move pulled the currency away from near four-decade lows and delivered its biggest one-day gain against the dollar in almost two years.
| Date | Yen/dollar level | Move |
|---|---|---|
| April 30 | Weakened to 160.72 (weakest since July 2024), then jumped to 155.5 | +3% intraday |
| July 30 | Strengthened to 157.8, a week after touching 163.99, a near 40-year low | +3% or more |
| Thursday | Climbed during NY hours after official buying; pulled away from near four-decade lows | Biggest one-day gain in ~2 years |
| Friday | Dollar slipped from ~158.9 to ~157.6 | −0.8% |
On July 30, the yen strengthened by more than 3% to 157.8 per dollar, just a week after touching a near 40-year low of 163.99. On April 30, the yen jumped as much as 3% to 155.5 per dollar after weakening to 160.72, its weakest level since July 2024. The rallies followed repeated warnings from Japanese authorities that intervention could come without notice, while a market source in South Korea said the country was selling dollars alongside Japan.
Implications for corporate treasuries
The scale of official activity is set out in the data: Japan may have spent $58.97 billion on Thursday alone, on top of roughly $70 billion in April and May, according to central bank data and prior intervention reports. The U.S. Treasury's reported participation — through the New York Fed's sale of euros for yen via Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — would be the first direct U.S. support for the yen since 2011, per the Financial Times. The yen moved more than 3% on April 30 and July 30 and saw its biggest one-day gain in almost two years on Thursday, with Japanese authorities warning that intervention could come without notice. Friday's to-do note indicates U.S. officials are prepared to act alongside them, the reports show.
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