{
  "id": 9870057,
  "title": "Yen rises as Japanese officials say weak currency is problem",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/yen-rises-as-japanese-officials-say-weak-currency-is-problem",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-25T23:29:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Japan Times",
    "slug": "japan-times",
    "url": "https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/09/26/markets/japan-yen-rises-us/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Japanese yen experienced a significant surge, reaching its best performance in almost three weeks, as officials in Japan and the United States discussed the challenges posed by a weakening currency. The currency appreciated by up to 1.2%, the highest since September 7, reaching ¥156.94 per dollar on Friday, outperforming all other Group-of-10 currencies. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi conveyed to U.S. President Donald Trump that an undervalued currency is \"problematic,\" fueling traders' concerns about potential interventions to strengthen the yen. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also highlighted the \"desirability of a strong yen\" during discussions with Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama. Strategist Moh Siong Sim from Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. suggested that the yen may be approaching a turning point, emphasizing that U.S.-Japan coordination could support the currency. The yen has faced renewed pressure due to expectations of further Federal Reserve rate hikes, which could widen the U.S.-Japan interest-rate gap. Market participants have viewed the area around ¥160 as a threshold where intervention risk increases. Options sentiment toward the yen has become more bullish recently, indicating a higher demand for hedging against potential Japanese intervention. Leveraged traders reduced their bullish positions on the yen in the week ending Tuesday, marking their first positive outlook since mid-2025 a week earlier. Japan and the U.S. conducted their first coordinated yen-buying intervention since 1998 this summer after the currency fell below ¥160. The intervention cost Japan a record ¥15.4 trillion ($97.4 billion) during the month through August 26, according to Finance Ministry data.",
  "summary": "The currency strengthened as much as 1.2%, the most since Sept. 7, to ¥156.94 per dollar on Friday, outperforming all of its Group-of-10 peers.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Business Times - Companies & Markets",
        "title": "Yen rises as Japanese officials say weak currency is problem",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/26/yen-rises-as-japanese-officials-say-weak-currency-is-problem",
        "published": "2026-09-26T00:43:40.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}