The United States bought the Japanese yen for the first time in more than a decade as “a signal of friendship,” U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday. The rare bilateral intervention in Japan’s currency market was designed to prop up the yen from its 40-year low against the dollar. “They have a weakening yen, and they wanted a little bit of help. And we’re always there for Japan,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. Trump’s comments come after the Financial Times reported Friday that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York sold euros for yen on behalf of the Treasury Department, citing people familiar with the matter. Trump said Sunday that supporting the yen would be “good for the world economy.” He cited last year’s US$20 billion bailout for Argentina and the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as examples of how US intervention has helped bolster other countries’ economies. The impact of those actions, however, is more complicated. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US and Japan coordinated foreign exchange actions to counter disorderly yen movements on Friday, adding that the Treasury Department “will not hesitate to participate in further joint intervention.” “We strongly support Japan’s decisive market and monetary steps to correct the substantial undervaluation of the yen,” he said on X on Sunday. A Reuters photograph from President Trump’s cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday showed Bessent had written on his notepad a “to-do” list of the incoming US purchase. Taken over Bessent’s shoulder during an on-the-record portion of the meeting, the Camp David notepad bore the underscored words “To Do” followed by “Buy Japanese Yen (JPY) $5-10 bil.” The president, who has previously called conservative Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi a “delight,” said the US would also benefit financially from the move, though he didn’t explain how. “Japan has always been very good to us, with the exception, of course, of Pearl Harbor,” Trump quipped.
