The live yen-to-dollar rate, updated every minute. Book JPY→USD with SummitFX on WhatsApp — we accept incoming JPY via SWIFT and settle USD via SWIFT to your US recipient bank.
Use the tabs to view the last week, month, year, or five years of daily closing rates. The shaded band shows the high-low range for the period — a quick visual read on volatility.
Type in either box — enter a JPY amount to see what you'd get in USD, or enter a target USD amount to see how many yen you'd need. Calculated at the live mid-market rate shown above.
Note: The rate shown is the live mid-market rate. Your actual executable rate includes a small spread — typically 0.3–0.6% at SummitFX vs 2–4% at a UK high street bank. We'll always show the full breakdown before you book.
JPY/USD is the mirror of USD/JPY — read from the Japanese side. Because USD/JPY is the world's second-most-traded pair, JPY/USD is one of the most actively analysed currency relationships globally. It moves on Bank of Japan policy, Federal Reserve policy, US Treasury yields, and global risk sentiment. As JPY is a safe-haven currency and USD the world's reserve, JPY/USD typically rises in stress episodes (yen safe-haven flow) and falls in carry-trade-friendly conditions (yen weakness).
Bank of Japan policy: The BoJ has run the world's loosest monetary policy for decades — yield curve control, negative rates, massive bond and ETF buying. Slow normalisation under Governor Ueda is now under way, and every BoJ meeting is closely watched for hints of further policy shifts. Decisions and the post-meeting press conference are the biggest scheduled JPY events.
Japanese inflation: Japan emerged from chronic deflation only recently. Sustained inflation above 2% justifies BoJ normalisation; soft prints push expectations the other way. CPI moves the yen disproportionately compared to other major economies because it's such a meaningful policy signal.
Safe-haven repatriation: Japanese institutions hold trillions in foreign assets. In stress episodes they repatriate, generating massive JPY buying. This is the single most important driver of JPY strength during global crises — and what makes JPY/USD rally sharply in risk-off.
MoF intervention: Japan's MoF has a long history of FX intervention. Verbal warnings ('excessive moves', 'speculative behaviour') often precede actual intervention. Intervention risk premia get priced into the yen when USD/JPY reaches historically extreme levels — which typically corresponds to multi-year lows in JPY/USD.
Fiscal year-end (March): Japanese companies and institutions rebalance around 31 March. Repatriation flows in February-March often strengthen JPY; April typically sees yen weakness as new fiscal-year outbound flows resume. This is a predictable seasonal pattern in JPY/USD.
Federal Reserve policy: The Fed sets US interest rates and is the most influential central bank in global FX. Decisions, the dot plot, and Jerome Powell's press conferences are the biggest scheduled USD events. The Fed-BoJ policy gap structurally favours USD against JPY given Japan's ultra-loose history.
US Treasury yields: The 10-year Treasury is the cleanest real-time gauge of JPY/USD direction. JPY/USD's correlation with US yields is one of the strongest in FX — rising US yields typically push JPY/USD lower as carry trades flow into USD.
US CPI and PCE: US inflation data drives Fed expectations. Monthly CPI is one of the most-watched FX events globally. PCE matters more for the actual policy path; CPI matters more for immediate market reactions.
Non-farm payrolls: The first-Friday US jobs report is arguably the biggest scheduled FX event globally. Strong payrolls support USD against JPY through Fed expectations; weakness pushes JPY/USD higher.
Safe-haven flows: When global risk appetite drops, capital flees to USD as the world's most liquid safe asset — but capital also flees to JPY through Japanese repatriation. The interaction of these two safe-haven flows determines short-term JPY/USD direction in stress episodes.
Japan and the US are major bilateral trade and investment partners. Bilateral trade exceeds $300 billion annually. Japan is one of the largest foreign holders of US Treasuries (over $1 trillion at times) and a major holder of US equities through institutional channels. Japanese multinationals — Toyota, Honda, Sony, SoftBank — maintain enormous US operations, generating constant JPY-to-USD repatriation flow. The corridor's institutional density makes JPY/USD one of the deepest, tightest-spread pairs in global FX.
JPY→USD settles via SWIFT through our US correspondent network. Time-zone alignment is challenging — Japan is 8-9 hours ahead of the UK and 14 hours ahead of New York, so Japanese morning bookings reach the UK before our cutoff but afternoon Japanese bookings often miss it.
Three things most commonly cause JPY→USD transfers to miss same-day settlement:
Late JPY arrival in UK time. Our cutoff is 11:00 UK time for same-day USD settlement — early because we need conversion done while US banks are processing actively. JPY wires sent from Japan in the morning typically arrive in the UK by mid-morning UK time, but Japanese afternoon bookings often miss our cutoff. Plan to send from Japan early in their business day.
Japanese intermediary bank holds. SWIFT wires from regional Japanese banks often route through a megabank (MUFG, Mizuho, SMBC) before reaching our European correspondent. This typically adds 1-2 hours of internal processing.
US or Japanese bank holidays. If US Federal banks are closed, Fedwire processing stalls. If Japanese banks are closed (Golden Week, Obon, Silver Week, New Year), JPY wires won't be initiated. Plan around both calendars when settlement timing is critical.
For tight USD deadlines — US property completions, IRS deadlines, supplier invoices — book the day before and let the conversion settle overnight. Forward contracts are particularly valuable for the JPY/USD corridor given the pair's volatility and intervention sensitivity.
JPY/USD is the corridor for Japanese residents and businesses with meaningful USD obligations, plus US-bound flows from Japanese expats, investors, and corporates. Common use cases:
Japanese institutional investors (life insurers, pension funds, GPIF) allocating to US Treasuries, equities, and credit. While dominated by institutional desks, individual Japanese high-net-worth investors also use this corridor for US asset allocation.
Japanese buyers — both individuals and institutional — purchasing US property in Hawaii, California, New York, Florida, and other markets. US closing timelines vary; forward contracts protect deal economics from currency moves during contract-to-completion periods.
Japanese entities of US-headquartered companies funding US parent dividends, intercompany payments, or repatriation flows. Treasury teams often use forward contracts to fix the JPY cost of scheduled USD obligations across financial years.
Japanese families with children at US universities or boarding schools. Predictable payment schedules suit forward contracts. The corridor also generates flow for living expenses, accommodation, and travel.
Japanese companies sourcing US software, services, and IP licensing. The Japanese tech sector in particular generates significant JPY-to-USD flow for SaaS subscriptions, cloud services, and US-based licensing fees.
Japanese-Americans and US residents who lived in Japan returning home, transferring JPY savings, Japanese property sale proceeds, or business receipts back to USD. Large one-off transfers where broker spreads vs bank spreads make a meaningful difference.
You can convert yen to dollars through your bank, through a transfer app, or through a broker. JPY/USD is the world's second-most-liquid pair, which means broker spreads stay extremely tight — and the gap between bank and broker pricing shows up immediately on any meaningful trade size.
Everything clients typically ask about sending yen to dollars. Still have questions? Message us on WhatsApp — a real dealer, not a bot, will reply.
We never forecast — but the chart above puts today's rate in context. JPY/USD is the most volatile of the major pairs, moving on every Fed or BoJ data release plus US yield moves. The pair often reflects a view on global risk appetite — strong risk-on tends to pull JPY/USD lower (carry trades active); risk-off pushes it higher (yen safe-haven flow). Rate alerts let you set a target and wait passively.
Japanese and US banks typically mark up JPY/USD by 2–4% for retail customers. SummitFX spreads are 0.3–0.6% depending on size. On a ¥100,000,000 US property purchase (~$660,000), the saving versus a bank can run from $9,000 to $20,000 — meaningful on top of property closing costs.
If your JPY arrives with us by 11:00 UK time on a UK business day, we settle the USD the same day. SWIFT delivery to US recipient banks typically takes a few hours. Send your JPY wire in the Japanese morning to give the best chance of same-day US settlement — this corresponds to UK overnight, so the wire is typically arriving as the UK business day starts.
Yes. US conveyancing timelines vary widely; Japanese conveyancing is fast. A forward contract fixes today's rate for delivery on completion day. You pay a deposit (5–10% of the trade) upfront and settle the balance at completion. Common for Japanese buyers of US property given JPY/USD's volatility.
No hard minimum — we handle trades from ¥100,000 to ¥1bn+. Below around ¥1,000,000 (~$6,500) the spread widens slightly to cover fixed execution costs. For recurring smaller payments, market orders or standing arrangements work better than ad-hoc bookings.
The rate shown on Google, XE, or the chart above is the mid-market rate — the midpoint of interbank buy and sell quotes. Nobody gets exactly that rate; providers add a margin. Banks typically 2–4%, Wise 0.3–0.6%, SummitFX 0.3–0.6% — with our clients also getting a named dealer and WhatsApp access.
When the yen weakens to historically extreme levels (multi-year lows in JPY/USD, USD/JPY above 150-160 in recent cycles), Japan's Ministry of Finance has historically intervened to support the yen. Intervention can move the pair 3-5% in hours. Verbal warnings from the Vice-Minister of Finance often precede actual intervention. If you're sending yen to dollars at extreme levels, intervention can work in your favour by pushing JPY/USD higher — but timing it is unreliable.
Your rate is locked the moment you reply CONFIRM on a quote. Even if a carry-trade unwind or risk-off event sends JPY/USD sharply higher before your wire reaches us, the rate you receive stays exactly as booked. JPY can move dramatically on global news; locking in advance is essential for any time-critical USD payment.
Message us on WhatsApp and we'll have a live executable rate back in seconds.