The Japanese yen strengthened on Thursday after the authorities decided to intervene in the foreign exchange market to help the battered yen.
The US dollar depreciated by 1.56% against the yen to trade at 141.77. The yen's strengthening against the US dollar initially hit a new 24-year high at 145.9 trading before declining to new lows.
The Euro, Australian dollar and pound also fell against the Japanese currency, before making small gains.
According to vice finance minister for international affairs Masato Kanda, 'we decided to take decisive action' which led to government intervention.
The confirmation of the intervention came hours after the BOJ decided to keep interest rates low to support the country's fragile economic recovery.
BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda told reporters that the central bank is choosing to delay rate hikes or change its dovish policy guidance for years. On the other hand, central banks around the world, especially the U.S. Federal Reserve, are raising rates aggressively and policy differences have hurt the yen.
Analysts opined "The Ministry of Finance may see this as buying some time and hope the Fed completes its tightening cycle by the end of the year, which may help bring some change in the trend."
The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against a basket of six other major currencies, firmed as high as 111.81 for the first time since mid-2002. The euro weakened to a new 20-year low of $0.9807 and sterling fell to a new 37-year low of $1.1213.
The Bank of England has announced its latest rate decision with a 50 basis point increase. The Fed opted for a more aggressive move with a 75 basis point increase as widely expected.
The US dollar also gained support after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would call up reservists to fight in Ukraine and said Moscow would retaliate if the west continued to escalate the situation.
Separately, the Swiss franc fell after the central bank raised rates by 75 basis points. The Swiss National Bank raised its key interest rate to 0.5% from the 0.25% level set in June, only the second increase in 15 years.
