Trump says US intervened in yen market to help Japan: 'They needed a little help'

Donald Trump said the United States intervened in the yen-dollar foreign exchange market to support Japan, effectively acknowledging US-Japan currency coordination after a sharp drop in the yen's value.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday as he flew from Bedminster, New Jersey, back to Washington, Trump said the US had a "great relationship" with Japan and explained the rationale for intervening to defend the yen, according to Reuters and AFP.

"Japan was having a weak yen and they needed a little help," he said. "We're always there for Japan."

The remarks lend weight to speculation that Japanese and US authorities jointly moved to stabilize the foreign exchange market in recent weeks.

As the yen fell sharply, Japanese authorities were reported to have intervened by buying yen and selling dollars. Markets estimate the scale of the intervention at between 6 trillion and 7 trillion yen ($43.8 billion).

The Nikkei reported that the New York Federal Reserve, acting on instructions from the US Treasury, conducted "rate checks" — inquiries to major financial institutions to gauge exchange rate conditions — ahead of the market intervention.

Rate checks are a standard procedure for assessing foreign exchange market conditions before an actual intervention. Analysts say it is highly unusual for US and Japanese authorities to conduct them simultaneously.

Earlier, at a meeting held at Camp David in Maryland on July 31, a memo belonging to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was spotted with the entry "Japan JPY $5 billion–$10 billion" listed under a "To Do" heading, raising the possibility of market intervention.

With Trump now directly stating that the US sought to help Japan, that memo and the broader theory of US-Japan coordination have gained considerably more credibility.