Bank of Japan

South Korea and Japan shared "serious concerns" on the recent weakness of their currencies against the dollar and agreed to take "appropriate actions" to counter extreme volatility, the finance ministry in Seoul said Wednesday.

Amid a strengthening dollar fueled by robust U.S. economic indicators, the Japanese yen tumbled to its lowest level in 34 years. On Tuesday, the U.S. dollar surged to 151.97 yen, surpassing the previous multi-year peak set in October 2022. This surge has triggered concerns over Japan's currency stability, prompting Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki to hint at potential intervention.

Japan's central bank on March 19 scrapped its negative interest rate as it finally began unwinding one of the world's most aggressive monetary easing programs.

The maverick policy dating back to 2013 was aimed at jump-starting economic growth and inflation after the country's "lost decades" of stagnant activity and prices in the world's number four economy.

Stock markets fell yesterday as traders took a step back following last week's rally, with Federal Reserve officials looking to temper expectations the U.S. central bank will cut interest rates several times next year.

Japan's top currency official said yesterday that Tokyo was "on standby" to intervene after the yen fell to a new year-low against the dollar and plunged against the euro, Bloomberg reported.

The yen dropped below 151 against the dollar overnight after the Bank of Japan further loosened its control of bond yields but stuck with sub-zero short-term interest rates.

Japan's consumer prices rose 3.2 percent year-on-year in May, slowing from 3.4 percent in April, government data showed on June 23.

The figure, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, beat market expectations and was higher than the 3.1 percent recorded in March.

Japan's consumer prices rose 3.4 percent on-year in April, in line with market expectations, government data showed on May 19.    

The figure, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, followed a 3.1 percent rise recorded in both March and February.    

The Bank of Japan announced a review of its longstanding monetary easing measures on April 28 but said it would maintain them for the time being in the first policy decision under new governor Kazuo Ueda.

Japan's consumer prices rose 3.1 percent in March, matching last month's figure and roughly in line with expectations, as inflation slows from four-decade highs, government data showed on April 21.

The figure, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, was marginally higher than market expectations of a 3.0 percent rise and even with February numbers.

Japan's consumer prices rose 3.1 percent in February from a year earlier, slowing from the four-decade highs seen in previous months, government data showed on March 24.

The figure, which excludes volatile fresh food, met market expectations and comes after the government introduced relief measures for soaring energy bills.