Japan intervened in the currency market on Thursday (Sep 22) to buy yen for the first time since 1998, in attempt to shore up the hard-hit currency after the Bank of Japan stuck with ultra-low rates. Below are details on how yen-buying intervention typically works as well as the challenges to that effort. Given the economy's heavy reliance on exports, Japan has historically focused on arresting sharp yen rises and taken a hands-off approach on yen falls. Yen-buying intervention has been very rare. The last time Japan intervened to support its currency was in 1998, when the Asian financial crisis triggered a yen ... (full story)