Japan seen earning $13bn from suspected yen interventions

TOKYO — Japan’s suspected yen-buying interventions last week may have yielded an estimated 2 trillion yen ($13 billion) in capital gains, potentially boosting a surplus on its foreign reserve account and fueling debate on how such funds should be used.

The Finance Ministry’s foreign exchange fund special account, which holds the assets used to fund interventions, had more than 19 trillion yen in unrealized gains from currency shifts at the end of fiscal 2022. The account includes large quantities of U.S. Treasury bonds and other dollar assets bought when the greenback was weak, which are worth more now in yen terms.