Currency traders said the currency swap deal with the National Pension Service would remove a big source of dollar demand and could help bolster the weakening currency

The intervention came after the Bank of Japan stuck with its ultra-low rate policy, which prompted a drop in the yen past 145 per dollar to a 24-year low.

A feeble yen is less of a benefit for Japan’s manufacturers than it used to be as companies have moved production and supply chains overseas

Japanese government sells dollars to stem sharp recent falls in the yen - their first intervention in the foreign exchange market since 1998

Bearish bets on most Asian currencies rose to record highs, driven by a towering dollar and mounting pressure on the Chinese yuan, which has slipped to a 27-month low

China's yuan is not the only currency struggling in the face of the strong dollar with Japan’s yen and South Korea’s won also under pressure

The Bank of Japan conducted a rate check on Wednesday, in possible preparation for currency intervention, Nikkei reported. The yen has falled around 20% so far this year.

Tokyo must be prepared to step in to tackle 'excessive, one-sided' yen moves, the government’s deputy chief cabinet secretary said

The slide in Japan's currency has begun to spook big investors, and some are cutting bets that it will decline further, expecting that the government could step in to try and stop the fall.

Japan is to spend $24bn on support measures as inflation soars in the world’s No3 economy, while the yen’s plunge also has Tokyo worried

Move to cut the amount of foreign exchange reserves that financial institutions must hold is seen as aimed at slowing the depreciation of the yuan

The US dollar hit a 24-year high of 139.69 after gaining about 0.5% against the Japanese yen on Thursday, as investors brace for more US rates hikes.