According to CoinMeta, and as reported by Japan News Agency, several Japanese government officials revealed that on July 31, the Japanese and U.S. governments conducted a joint intervention to buy yen, which is the first such action in 28 years. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda hinted at a press conference that he would raise policy interest rates as soon as possible in September and thereafter, stating that if necessary, they would "speed up the pace of interest rate hikes." The U.S. side gave a positive assessment of this move, and both sides are in agreement on preventing excessive depreciation of the yen. The U.S. is concerned that a slow pace of interest rate hikes in Japan could lead to yen depreciation, triggering inflation and rising long-term interest rates, which could affect global financial markets.