As the Japanese yen hit a 40-year low against the US dollar, Japan's government stepped in to support its currency. And it has a powerful ally in US President Donald Trump, who is putting the US financial might behind the historic currency intervention in what he called a “signal of friendship.”

On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha sits down with chief Asia foreign exchange correspondent Ruth Carson to unpack how the yen fell so far, what it could take to get it back on track and what’s at stake for the global economy.

Read more: Bessent Says Yen Level Problem for Japan, Other Currencies 

Further listening:

• Carry Trades, Explained
• Could the Chinese Yuan Ever Replace the US Dollar?

We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.

Hosted by K. Oanh Ha; Produced by Naomi Ng, Yang Yang, Rachael Lewis-Krisky and Victor Swezey; Reported by Ruth Carson; Edited by Paddy Hirsch and Tracey Samuelson. Fact-checking by Victor Swezey; Engineering by Emma Munger and Taka Yasuzawa. Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.