Monetary authorities in Japan and other nations should consider market intervention when the yen sharply rises against the dollar, according to Toyoo Gyohten, former vice finance minister for international affairs.
Gyohten, once deemed part of the "Currency Mafia" because of his expertise on monetary affairs when he served in the post in the 1980s, is proposing that intervention is useful when the market drastically fluctuates on speculative and psychological factors to the point of threatening the entire economy.
When the dollar plunged to a 13-year low of ¥88.16 last Friday, a senior Finance Ministry official warned of intervention in the foreign-exchange market.