Policymakers and business leaders appear far more sanguine about the recent slide in the yen than they were about last year’s intervention-triggering collapse — a sign they see the weakness as temporary.
While the currency is at an almost eight-month low against the dollar and at its weakest against the euro in 15 years, the panic of 2022 doesn’t appear to be coursing through the veins of officials, consumers and company executives yet. Last year, Japan spent $65 billion on direct purchases of the yen to help drag it off a three-decade low versus the greenback.
One key factor is the perception central banks are nearer the end of the global rate hike cycle than the beginning. While it’s still not clear when those like the U.S. Federal Reserve will reach stop, that view has helped dampen fears that Japan is peering into the abyss of a yen freefall.