Japan bought yen on three separate days over the summer. Daily figures released on November 9 show it bought almost ¥1.7 trillion more on July 30 than on the previous record day in April.
Japan sold US dollars to buy ¥7.9756 trillion on July 30, the Finance Ministry disclosed in its November 9 report on third-quarter intervention. It was the most yen Japan had bought in a single day, according to Jiji Press.
The ministry’s August 28 release put purchases from July 30 through August 26 at ¥15.3993 trillion but did not give amounts for individual dates. The reporting period for the November figures spans the full quarter, but both releases include the same three purchases.
More than half the yen was bought on the first day
Japan bought 51.8% of the quarter’s total on July 30. A second purchase the next day brought the July total to ¥13.5279 trillion. The final purchase was on August 3. The ministry listed no intervention in September.
| Date | Yen purchased (billions) |
|---|---|
| July 30, 2026 | 7,975.6 |
| July 31, 2026 | 5,552.3 |
| August 3, 2026 | 1,871.4 |
| Third-quarter total | 15,399.3 |
How far did July exceed the April record?
The previous one-day record was ¥6.2787 trillion on April 30. The July 30 purchase exceeded it by ¥1.6969 trillion, or about 27%.
Reuters Japan reports the daily yen-buying record on November 9
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The ministry’s April–June figures also list dollar sales for yen on May 4 and May 6. It reported a total of ¥11.7349 trillion in purchases that quarter. Across the same number of intervention days, Japan bought ¥3.6644 trillion more in July–September.
In its November 9 news report, TV Tokyo said the dollar traded in the upper ¥163 range late in July and briefly fell into the ¥155 range during the interventions. In the dollar/yen currency pair, a lower reading means one dollar buys fewer yen. The ministry did not publish the rates at which it traded, so those market quotes cannot establish how many dollars it sold.
How does Japan pay for currency intervention?
Japan’s finance minister decides when to intervene. The Bank of Japan reports market conditions to the ministry daily and buys or sells currency on the minister’s instructions. When Japan sells dollars to buy yen, it draws the dollars from the government’s Foreign Exchange Fund Special Account. For a trade in the opposite direction, the government can raise yen by issuing short-term financing bills.
The Bank of Japan’s guide to intervention says its dealing desk continues to track prices and report the market response to the ministry during a trade. Once the parties agree on the terms, the bank’s back office confirms them with the counterparty by phone or SWIFT. The ministry gave no date or target exchange rate for another intervention.
