On Tuesday, 18th October, when the yen hit a fresh 32-year low, Japan's finance minister, Shunichi Suzuki, issued a warning that the country would take appropriate and immediate measures against extreme, speculator-driven currency fluctuations.
On Monday, the yen dropped below 149 to the dollar at one point, setting a new 32-year low. Previously, on Friday, the yen dropped to a low of 148.86.
When questioned about speculations that Japan may be supporting the yen without officially confirming it, Suzuki emphasized that the government may step in without any announcements but made no mention of whether they had really done so. Suzuki told a session of parliament on Tuesday, "We are closely monitoring market swings with a great feeling of urgency. We will make an appropriate response decisively to excessive moves."
The finance ministers and central bankers met on Thursday to examine how American monetary tightening might affect the rest of the world. According to a statement, the G-20 is "determined to calibrate the pace of monetary policy tightening correctly."
Even yet, market observers anticipate that U.S. interest rate increases will continue to boost the value of the dollar, particularly in light of President Joe Biden's statement on Saturday that he was "not concerned about the strength of the currency."
Many investors anticipate Tokyo to launch another dollar-selling operation to support the yen as the Japanese currency plunges to record lows. Some think there is already hidden government intervention in the foreign exchange market.
In April, when the yen was trading at about 126 to the dollar, Suzuki recognized for the first time that it was bad for the economy. It has dropped significantly throughout the year, dropping by around 20%.
Last month, when authorities intervened in the markets to support the yen for the first time since 1998, Japan spent 2.8 trillion yen ($18.81 billion) selling dollars and buying yen.
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