The United States and Japan last week carried out a rare coordinated intervention in foreign exchange markets to stabilize the rapidly weakening yen, marking the first joint operation of its kind in more than a decade.

上周，美国和日本在外汇市场进行了一次罕见的协同干预，以稳定迅速贬值的日元，这是十多年来首次此类联合行动。

President Trump confirmed on Sunday that the Treasury Department had assisted Japanese authorities. In a statement, Satsuki Katayama, Japan’s finance minister, said the intervention was taken to counter “excessive volatility and disorderly movements” in the yen after months of sustained weakness.

特朗普总统周日证实，美国财政部协助了日本当局。日本财务大臣片山皋月在声明中表示，此次干预旨在应对日元在持续数月走弱后出现的“过度波动和无序走势”。

The yen has depreciated steadily against the U.S. dollar this year, as investors have grown increasingly concerned about Japan’s expanding fiscal spending, amplified by higher energy costs stemming from the U.S. war with Iran. In July, the currency fell to its weakest level since the early 1980s, with the dollar briefly climbing above 163 yen, up from around 147 yen a year earlier.

今年以来，日元兑美元持续贬值，因为投资者对日本不断扩大的财政支出日益感到担忧，而美国与伊朗战争导致的高能源成本又进一步加剧了这种担忧。7月份，日元跌至20世纪80年代初以来的最低水平，美元兑日元汇率一度攀升至一美元兑163日元以上，而一年前约为147日元。

The Financial Times, citing sources, reported last week that the United States had sold euros to buy yen, helping to strengthen the Japanese currency. In Tokyo trading on Monday, the yen surged to around 155 per dollar before settling at around 156.50.

《金融时报》上周援引消息人士的话报道称，美国抛售欧元以购买日元，从而帮助提振日元。在周一的东京交易时段，日元一度飙升至1美元兑155日元左右，随后回落并企稳在156.5日元左右。

The intervention underscores the delicate balance surrounding the U.S. dollar’s global role. President Trump has repeatedly argued that an overly strong dollar hurts American exporters by making U.S. goods more expensive abroad. At the same time, Washington has a strong interest in preserving the dollar’s position as the world’s dominant reserve currency — what businesses, banks and people use to price goods and settle accounts.

此次干预凸显了围绕美元全球地位的微妙平衡。特朗普总统曾多次表示，过于强势的美元会使美国商品在海外市场价格上涨，从而损害美国出口商的利益。与此同时，华盛顿极力维护美元作为全球主导性储备货币的地位——企业、银行和民众以全球主导性储备货币为基准来定价商品和结算账目。

For Japan, a weak yen has produced mixed results. While it improves the competitiveness of Japanese exporters, it also increases the cost of imports, particularly energy. Because oil is typically priced in dollars, Japan has faced the double burden of higher global oil prices and a weaker currency, forcing importers to spend more yen for every barrel.

对日本而言，日元疲软带来的影响喜忧参半。虽然它提高了日本出口商的竞争力，但也增加了进口成本，尤其是能源成本。由于石油通常以美元定价，日本面临着全球油价上涨和本国货币走弱的双重负担，迫使进口商为每一桶石油花费更多的日元。

The yen’s decline mirrors broader weakness across several Asian currencies as the dollar has strengthened. Since April, Japan’s finance ministry has spent tens of billions of dollars purchasing yen to prop up the currency, with limited success.

日元贬值反映了随着美元走强，多国亚洲货币普遍走弱的态势。自4月以来，日本财务省已斥资数百亿美元买入日元以支撑汇率，但成效有限。

Speaking in Tokyo on Monday, Ms. Katayama said the government believes the yen is undervalued, pointing to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s efforts to revive the economy.

片山周一在东京发表讲话时表示，政府认为日元被低估了，并提到了首相高市早苗为重振经济所做的努力。

The coordinated intervention coincided with the Bank of Japan’s latest policy meeting, where officials left interest rates unchanged but signaled that additional rate increases remain possible. Japan’s central bank raised rates in June, with market analysts expecting another increase before year-end.

此次协同干预恰逢日本央行召开最新一次政策会议。在会议上，官员们维持利率不变，但暗示仍有可能进一步加息。日本央行曾在6月份加息，市场分析师预计年底前还会再加息一次。

After decades of ultralow interest rates aimed at combating deflation, the Bank of Japan has been gradually raising rates in response to inflationary pressures. Ms. Takaichi, however, has championed low borrowing costs as part of an agenda built around fiscal stimulus, tax cuts and higher defense spending — priorities that become more difficult to finance as interest rates rise.

在实施了数十年旨在对抗通缩的超低利率政策后，日本央行一直在逐步加息，以应对通胀压力。然而，高市早苗一直主张维持低借贷成本，并将其作为围绕财政刺激、减税和增加国防支出等议程的一部分——而随着利率上升，为这些优先事项提供资金将变得更加困难。

Many economists argue that higher Japanese interest rates, by narrowing the gap with U.S. rates, would help relieve downward pressure on the yen. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed a similar view during a visit to Tokyo earlier this year.

许多经济学家认为，日本提高利率可以缩小与美国利率的差距，有助于缓解日元的下行压力。美国财政部长斯科特·贝森特在今年早些时候访问东京时也表达了类似的观点。

So far this year, Japanese stocks are performing better than their U.S. counterparts. Despite a decline over the past month, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index remains almost 30 percent higher this year, while the S&P 500 is up 9.2 percent.

今年迄今为止，日本股市的表现优于美国股市。尽管过去一个月有所下跌，但日本基准日经225指数今年以来仍保持了近30%的涨幅，而标准普尔500指数则上涨了9.2%。

The United States last coordinated currency intervention with Japan in 2011, when the two countries sought to weaken an unusually strong yen after it surged in the aftermath of Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami. Washington also joined Japan in supporting the yen during a period of sharp depreciation in 1998.

美国上一次与日本进行协同外汇干预是在2011年，当时日本遭遇毁灭性地震和海啸，日元汇率急剧飙升，两国试图压低异常坚挺的日元。1998年日元急剧贬值期间，华盛顿也曾与日本一道出手支撑日元。

For the Trump administration, a persistently weak yen creates several challenges. It gives Japanese manufacturers a competitive advantage over U.S. producers, undercutting President Trump’s broader effort to use tariffs to encourage companies to shift production to the United States.

对于特朗普政府来说，日元持续疲软带来了多项挑战。它使日本制造商相对于美国生产商获得了竞争优势，削弱了特朗普总统利用关税鼓励企业将生产线转移回美国的更广泛努力。

A weaker yen also risks fueling inflation in Japan, potentially prompting the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates more aggressively. Higher Japanese bond yields could encourage domestic investors to shift money out of U.S. Treasuries and back into Japanese assets, pushing Treasury prices lower, raising U.S. yields and increasing borrowing costs across the American economy.

日元走弱还有可能加剧日本的通胀，这或许会促使日本央行采取更激进的加息措施。日本债券收益率的上升可能会促使国内投资者将资金从美国国债中撤出，转回日本资产，从而压低美国国债价格，推高美债收益率，并增加整个美国经济的借贷成本。

Mr. Trump was asked on Sunday why the Treasury Department had taken the step this time.

周日，特朗普被问及财政部为何此次要采取这一措施。

“To support the Japanese currency,” he said, after he landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. “Because we have a good relationship with Japan. We’re very strong, very, very strong financially.”

“为了支持日本的货币，”他在马里兰州安德鲁斯空军基地降落后说道。“因为我们与日本关系很好。我们在财政上非常强大，非常、非常强大。”

He added: “Japan’s been very good to us, with the exception, of course, of Pearl Harbor.”

他还说：“日本对我们一直很好，当然，珍珠港事件除外。”

Mr. Bessent also acknowledged the intervention in a post on X that the coordinated foreign exchange actions had “countered disorderly yen movements,” he wrote, adding, “We will not hesitate to participate in further joint intervention.”

贝森特也在X平台上发帖确认了此次干预，他写道，此次协调一致的外汇行动“应对了日元的无序波动”，并称，“我们将毫不犹豫地参与进一步的联合干预。”

Ms. Katayama said Japan’s finance ministry “remains attentive and in close communication” with the Treasury Department.

片山表示，日本财务省“仍在密切关注，并与美国财政部保持着密切沟通”。

Still, analysts cautioned that intervention alone is unlikely to reverse the yen’s decline unless underlying economic forces also change.

不过，分析师警告称，除非基本面经济因素也发生改变，否则仅靠干预不太可能扭转日元的跌势。

“The intervention highlights growing official determination to defend the currency, but equally underscores the limits of relying on FX operations alone,” analysts at Wells Fargo said.

“此次干预凸显了官方捍卫货币的决心日益增强，但也同样凸显了仅靠外汇操作的局限性，”富国银行的分析师表示。