Yen Suddenly Spikes to Upper-152 Range, Sparking Talk of a Repeat of the 2022/24 ‘Post-Intervention Highs’

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The story

Yen-buying and dollar-selling continued in foreign exchange markets, with the yen briefly touching the upper-152 range against the dollar in Tokyo trading on the 8th — a move of over 7 yen in a single week that marked its highest level since February. The rally is reportedly being driven by a worldwide unwinding of previously built-up short-yen, long-dollar positions, spurred by expectations that the Bank of Japan will accelerate its pace of rate hikes. Some market voices note that “this resembles the 2022 and 2024 episodes when the yen surged more than 20 yen off its lows.” On the thread, opinions split over whether the next rate hike will be 0.25% or 0.5%, how investors sitting on unrealized NISA losses are reacting, and the long-running debate over whether a strong or weak yen actually benefits ordinary people more.

Yen-buying and dollar-selling have continued in the foreign exchange market. The yen briefly rose to the upper-152 range against the dollar in Tokyo trading on the 8th, gaining more than 7 yen in a week to hit its highest level since February. Spurred by expectations that the Bank of Japan will accelerate its pace of rate hikes, a worldwide unwinding of previously accumulated short-yen, long-dollar positions has spread. Market voices say “this resembles the 2022 and 2024 episodes when the yen surged more than 20 yen off its lows.”

Buying interest in the yen continued in Tokyo trading on the 9th as well…(continues in the paid edition, 1,582 characters remaining)

Nikkei — September 9, 2026, 15:04

Source: nikkei.com / Original article here

What people said

2AnonymousSep 9, 2026 17:39
Guess I'll grab a beer and watch Peace-kun — the world's most famous capybara from Omiya Zoo — on YouTube
161AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:30
Re: #2
Satoshin Tehironaka Ie-tan Isetan died Yoshiko (a nonsensical string of names — this looks like garbled troll copypasta, common on 5ch)
22AnonymousSep 9, 2026 17:45
Just a little while ago analysts were saying it'd hit ¥180 by year-end lol
27AnonymousSep 9, 2026 17:46
Re: #22
No way — neither the Japanese nor US government asked for that
Who's the idiot who said that
23AnonymousSep 9, 2026 17:45
If it hits ¥120, all the NISA folks will be in the red
30AnonymousSep 9, 2026 17:48
Re: #23
Glad I just sat back and watched
103AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:11
Re: #23
Yaaay
Couldn't even run and took a huge loss from the yen's rise lol
26AnonymousSep 9, 2026 17:46
A 0.25% hike and the yen weakening resumes
59AnonymousSep 9, 2026 17:58
Re: #26
Sounds like that's what the experts predict. A 0.5% hike would be too big a shock, so they'll avoid it. Then disappointment-selling sends it back to yen weakness
72AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:02
Re: #29
Right! And then immigrants will keep coming for the strong currency


Re: #59
'Experts,' lol
77AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:02
Re: #59
There might be some disappointment, but
it's just yen-carry traders wary of a big hike temporarily buying back yen
Once the hike size is confirmed I think the yen carry trade will resume
31AnonymousSep 9, 2026 17:48
Coordinated intervention snapped it back so easily before — what happened this time?
I started NISA last month and felt safe filling my quota with mutual funds
And now my losses are insane
What are you gonna do about this, Takaichi?
67AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:00
Re: #31
Probably because word got out to market participants that Bessent was genuinely furious about it. His recent comments have been razor-sharp too.
34AnonymousSep 9, 2026 17:49
At this rate, that giddy "hoku-hoku" happy feeling (from cashing in on the weak yen) is going extinct
42AnonymousSep 9, 2026 17:52
The mystery of Takaichi making ordinary Japanese people suffer while Bessent comes to the rescue
63AnonymousSep 9, 2026 17:59
Where'd all the guys who said the yen was weak because Japan's economy got weaker go?
Turns out it was just an interest rate gap the whole time
110AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:13
Re: #63
Don't worry, Japan's long-term decline isn't going to stop

because the hardworking, patient Japanese laborer doesn't exist anymore
69AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:01
I miss the days of ¥100 to the dollar.
Could buy tons of imported records, and CPUs, RAM, motherboards were all cheap too.
76AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:02
Re: #69
Used to eat beef all the time back then
Now even chicken feels iffy
97AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:09
It'd be great if exporters profiting from the weak yen let that trickle down to citizens, but that never happened
106AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:11
Re: #97
If anything, all that talk of factories 'returning to Japan' was a total lie — all we got out of it were data centers built on the cheap, which are the noisy, electricity-guzzling root cause of rising power bills lol
117AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:14
Re: #97
Well, if companies could count on the weak yen staying stable long-term they'd invest more, but when it spikes all at once like this, they can't commit
98AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:09
A 0.25% hike is gonna send cross-yen pairs shooting up, so buy now
Told you so in advance
130AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:21
Re: #98
No way that's happening
After Bessent's pushed things this far and the market's reacted this much, there's no way it's just a 0.25% hike
They'll definitely surprise everyone with a 0.5% hike, or announce 'we'll be hiking every quarter!' (smirks)
99AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:10
Yen strength and rate hikes bring back the savings culture
That investment boom sure didn't last long
107AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:12
Re: #99
Well, people with money will now profit off interest
Whether the yen strengthens or weakens, it's only the bottom rung that loses out lol
109AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:13
Re: #99
Totally got played by the government
Guess we'll have to trade our own retirement funds now
116AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:14
Re: #99
Growth and inflation are higher overseas
So the yen's weakening isn't going to stop
115AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:14
I can clearly tell the people celebrating right now are the losers
Inflation and rising stocks aren't going to stop
The Japanese government won't let stocks fall no matter what — or rather, it can't afford to
128AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:19
Re: #115
Up until now, whether it was the Lehman Shock or COVID, they had the room to print money and spend their way out,
using the trick of stocks rising during a recession followed by a real economic recovery,
but if the next shock hits during this high-rate era, it'll be a genuine shock
Though if no shock comes while rates stay high, we win
121AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:17
Re: #107
Only the super-rich can live off income gains, but exploding your assets through capital gains while dumping the burden of a weak currency onto poor people is honestly a bit much — a strong yen and high rates would be healthier
(By the way, I'm a landlord)
131AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:22
Re: #121
It's precisely because of the weak currency that the bottom rung barely had jobs at all lol
And today's high prices are mainly due to raw material shortages, so they won't come down much — no need to lower them since they sell anyway lol
174AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:36
There's no such thing as a 'fair' exchange rate
178AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:37
Re: #174
The 'fair' rate is whatever makes Uncle Sam happy
Glad I diversified properly after all
182AnonymousSep 9, 2026 18:39
Re: #174
There is one
There's even a formula for it

Background and Key Points of Debate

The yen’s sharp rally isn’t simply a sign that “Japan’s economy has gotten stronger” — it’s mainly attributed to the unwinding of previously built-up yen carry trades (borrowing low-interest yen to invest in higher-yielding currencies like the dollar). When expectations for BOJ rate hikes strengthen, this unwinding accelerates, making the market prone to sharp swings in a short period. The 2022 and 2024 episodes the article cites were likewise triggered by currency intervention, producing similarly sharp yen rallies — a textbook case of speculation and position adjustments moving the market rather than a simple shift in real demand. The thread was split between practical predictions of whether the next hike will be 0.25% or 0.5%, and a more everyday-level debate over whether a weak or strong yen is actually “better for ordinary people” — a question whose answer has flipped back and forth over the decades, with no side consistently right. The fact that exporters’ profits haven’t trickled down into wages also shows that the benefits of a weak yen aren’t shared evenly.

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Forex] Yen buying continues, echoes of the 2022/24 ‘post-intervention yen strength’ — a break above ¥150 feels real“.

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