Japan (Also) Mulls Intervention

Yesterday, the Forex Blog reported that the risk of intervention in forex markets is growing, in order to prop up an ailing Dollar. The focus of the post was on the Euro, which is hovering below the record high of $1.60 reached last week. With this post, we wish to extend coverage of the potential intervention to include Japan. In some respects, Japan is actually a more likely candidate for intervention, since it has a history of actively depressing its currency. Most recently, in 2004, it accumulated $350 Billion in Dollar-denominated assets in a large scale effort to keep the Yen from rising out of control.
Japan's consumers are notoriously tightfisted, and consequently, its economy is dependent on the export sector to drive growth. Unfortunately, the more expensive Yen is making this sector less competitive. In addition, Japan's new Prime Minister has yet to lay out an economic plan, and the stock market is foundering. A number of creative solutions are being mulled, including one to buy American mortgage-backed securities, in order to head off the international opposition to intervention. The New York Times reports:
That might win Washington’s approval by helping to ease the credit squeeze in the United States, but given such securities’ role in precipitating the crisis of the last several months, it might well set off cries of dismay here.
Read More: As Dollar Keeps Falling, Talk of a Move by Japan