By Micah Jonah
January 16, 2026
The Japanese yen strengthened on Friday after Finance Minister, Satsuki Katayama said Tokyo would not rule out joint intervention with the United States to defend the currency, which had slid to a one-and-a-half-year low earlier this week.
Katayama highlighted a joint statement signed with the U.S. last September as “extremely significant” and noted that intervention remains an option if currency weakness persists. The yen rose 0.3% to 158.37 per dollar following her comments.
The dollar remained near a six-week high, supported by strong U.S. economic data, including a drop in initial jobless claims, which reduced expectations for a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut. The euro was steady at $1.1606, while sterling inched up to $1.3381.
Markets in Japan are also monitoring a looming snap election called by fiscally dovish Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, alongside a central bank policy meeting. Some Bank of Japan policymakers see the possibility of raising interest rates sooner than markets anticipate to counter the weak yen.
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar rose 0.1% to $0.6701, and New Zealand’s kiwi gained 0.2% to $0.5755. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin increased 0.1% to $95,610.29, while ether climbed 0.3% to $3,308.20.
