🇯🇵 JPY vs 🇺🇸 USD: Currency Strength Comparison
Data updated: November 6, 2026
On November 6, 2026, one US Dollar bought 158.33 JPY at the official reference rate, so per unit the US Dollar is worth more. A higher unit value only reflects how each currency is denominated, not which one is gaining: over the past 12 months JPY weakened by 3% against USD, so on momentum the US Dollar (USD) is the stronger of the two.
Adjusted for consumer-price inflation in both economies, JPY lost 0.6% in real terms against USD over the same period.
JPY relative to USD
Positive values mean JPY strengthened against USD.
JPY vs USD over the last three years
JPY against USD, index 100 on November 6, 2023. A rising line means JPY gained on USD. Dashed: the same, adjusted for consumer-price inflation in both economies. Green dot: 3-year high, red: 3-year low.
- 3-year high: 107.1 on September 16, 2024, when JPY was at its strongest against USD in the period.
- 3-year low: 91.4 on July 28, 2026.
- Now: 94.6, 11.6% below the high and 3.5% above the low.
- Sharpest one-month move: JPY rose 13.6% against USD between July 11, 2024 and August 5, 2024.
What moved JPY and USD
- · 🇯🇵 US and Japan intervene to prop up yen — A rare joint intervention aims to halt the yen's slide as a carry-trade unwind rattles global markets
- · 🇯🇵 BoJ hikes to 1.00% — Bank of Japan raises its policy rate again, citing persistent inflation and yen weakness
- · 🇺🇸 Senate confirms Warsh as Fed chair — Kevin Warsh is confirmed in the closest Fed chair vote in modern history, succeeding Powell
- · 🇯🇵 Japan intervenes to defend yen — Japan's Ministry of Finance buys yen after it crosses 160 per dollar during Golden Week
- · 🇺🇸 Supreme Court strikes down IEEPA tariffs — The Court rules 6-3 that Trump's emergency-powers tariffs exceeded presidential authority
- · 🇯🇵 Takaichi's LDP wins snap election — The LDP-JIP coalition wins a postwar-record majority after a snap election
Major central-bank decisions, elections and shocks for the two currencies since November 6, 2023. The interactive chart marks them on the line.
Performance against 15 major currencies
| Currency | 12-month change vs basket | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 🇯🇵 Japanese Yen (JPY) | -2.1% | #10 of 16 |
| 🇺🇸 US Dollar (USD) | +1.1% | #6 of 16 |
Open the interactive JPY/USD chart →
How this comparison works
Each currency's strength index starts at 100 and accumulates its daily change against 15 other major currencies (a geometric mean of pairwise exchange-rate moves), using European Central Bank reference rates and other official sources. The relative figures above divide JPY's index by USD's, so they reflect the two currencies' performance against each other while accounting for the whole basket. The real variant additionally adjusts each currency for its domestic CPI inflation.
Read the full methodology →Frequently asked questions
Is JPY stronger than USD right now?
It depends on the question. Per unit, 1 USD = 158.33 JPY (reference rate, November 6, 2026), so the US Dollar is worth more. As for which one is gaining, over the past 12 months JPY weakened by 3% against USD, so on momentum the US Dollar (USD) is the stronger of the two.
How do JPY and USD perform against other major currencies?
Against a basket of 15 major currencies over the past 12 months, JPY ranks #10 of 16 (-2.1%) while USD ranks #6 (+1.1%).
What does the JPY vs USD strength comparison show?
Rather than a single exchange rate, this page compares how each currency performed against a basket of 15 major currencies, then derives their relative strength. It filters out moves caused by the other currency alone and shows who is truly stronger.
How often is the data updated?
Every trading day (Monday to Friday), after the European Central Bank publishes its reference rates, usually around 16:00 CET.