Japan's Ministry of Finance spent nothing on currency intervention between Sept. 29 and Oct. 28, according to data it published Friday, the second consecutive monthly period with no yen buying after the heavy operation that ended in late August.

The zero reading matters for anyone holding yen assets or hedging yen exposure in Asia. It shows Tokyo has relied on words, not dollars, for two months while the yen has traded in a band around 157 to 158 per dollar. That is weaker than the levels that set off the spring operations, but well off the extremes of July. It also means the government's firepower is largely intact after this year's heavy spending.

What the Finance Ministry data show

The ministry's monthly release covers the period ending two business days before publication. The Oct. 30 notice listed a total of ¥0 for Sept. 29 through Oct. 28. The previous release, on Sept. 30, also showed ¥0 for Aug. 27 through Sept. 28.

Before that, the numbers were large. From July 30 through Aug. 26, the ministry bought yen worth 15,399.3 billion yen, the largest monthly amount on record according to Jiji Press, a period that included the joint intervention with Washington in July. In the second quarter it spent 11,734.9 billion yen over three days: 6,278.7 billion yen on April 30, 780.2 billion yen on May 4 and 4,675.9 billion yen on May 6, each time selling dollars, according to its quarterly breakdown released Aug. 7.

Added together, confirmed yen buying in 2026 comes to about 27.1 trillion yen. The ministry had not yet posted its day-by-day breakdown for July through September as of Monday. Capital Times' editorial board argued last week that Japan has spent 27 trillion yen defending its currency and that policy needs to do the rest.

Japan's reserves after the summer spending

Reserves tell the other half of the story. Japan's reserve assets stood at US$1.178 trillion at the end of September, down US$29.1 billion from the end of August, the ministry said in its Oct. 7 release. Because no intervention took place in that period, the September drop did not come from yen buying; the ministry's release does not break down the reasons for the change.

Foreign currency reserves made up US$976.9 billion of the total, split between US$821.7 billion in securities and US$155.2 billion in deposits, almost all of it held with foreign central banks and the Bank for International Settlements. Gold was valued at US$113.6 billion, covering 27.2 million troy ounces. Holdings of special drawing rights were worth US$60.8 billion and the IMF reserve position US$11.3 billion.

The liquidity template also shows US$20 billion of long positions in forwards and futures against the yen, spread across maturities of up to one year. That is a small figure against total reserves, but it indicates some of the summer operation's footprint still sits in forward contracts.

The October reserve figures are due in early November. The September release came out on Oct. 7.

Verbal warnings take over from dollar sales

With no money spent, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama has carried the message. On Oct. 15, as the yen recovered past 158 per dollar from six-week lows hit after hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation data, she said Tokyo stood ready to intervene again if needed and that the positions of Washington and Tokyo had not changed since their joint intervention in July, Trading Economics reported.

The tone was similar in mid-July, when the yen was near 162. Katayama told parliament the government stood ready to take appropriate action on foreign exchange whenever necessary, investingLive reported, citing Reuters.

Policy at the Bank of Japan has also shaped the currency. The yen firmed toward 157 per dollar on Oct. 30, a third straight daily gain, after the BOJ held its policy rate at 1.25% in an 8-1 vote, Trading Economics reported; investingLive put the yen near 157.8 after the decision. Board member Hajime Takata dissented in favor of raising the rate to 1.5%.

The rally did not last into the new week. On Monday the yen weakened back toward 158 per dollar, ending its three-day winning streak, even as Katayama repeated that Tokyo was ready to respond to disorderly moves and would keep coordinating with the United States, according to Trading Economics.

For traders, the data set a clear baseline. The yen has held near 158 without official selling of dollars, and the government has not named a level it will defend. Any operation from here would show up first in sharp intraday moves and then in the ministry's next monthly release, which will cover Oct. 29 through late November and is expected at the end of November.