The Japanese yen strengthened sharply on Friday after Japanese officials said U.S. President Donald Trump had raised concern about the currency’s weakness during talks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The comments pushed intervention risk back to the center of the foreign-exchange market.
Reuters reported that the yen rose about 0.8% from three-week lows to around 157.65 per dollar. Japan’s finance minister Satsuki Katayama said the discussion reaffirmed the shared U.S.-Japan stance behind July’s joint intervention and that she would remain in close contact with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The move interrupted a period of renewed yen weakness. Although the Bank of Japan raised rates last week to a 31-year high, markets had judged the central bank’s guidance as not sufficiently hawkish to prevent USD/JPY from climbing toward levels that have repeatedly triggered official concern.
ForexLive’s European-session recap also highlighted the yen’s jump and linked it to Takaichi’s comments that Trump had flagged pressure from a weak currency. The same session saw oil prices fall on reports of possible progress toward a U.S.-Iran deal, which also reduced some inflation pressure on the dollar side of the pair.
For USD/JPY, the near-term issue is no longer only the U.S.-Japan interest-rate gap. Traders are again assessing the probability of official intervention, the possibility of coordinated action and whether Japanese policymakers will tolerate another sustained move toward recent highs.