According to guidelines from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), if Japan wishes to maintain its status as a free-floating exchange rate country, it can only conduct a maximum of two more rounds of foreign exchange intervention, each lasting three days, before the end of November.

An official from Japan's Ministry of Finance cited an IMF rule on Monday, stating that three consecutive days of intervention would be considered one market operation. This follows reports that Japanese authorities intervened last Thursday, causing a sharp rise in the yen, with several intraday rebounds occurring in subsequent days.

However, market participants widely believe that the yen will resume its depreciation trend regardless of official intervention. The war in Iran is unfavorable for Japan's energy-import-dependent economy, while the still significant interest rate gap with the United States continues to weigh on market sentiment, keeping sustained pressure on the yen.

Abbas Keshvani, Head of Asian Macro Strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said, "Will they use intervention? Yes, especially if the spot rate approaches the 160 level. But will it be effective? It can suppress the USD/JPY rate in the short term, but in the longer term, the fundamental factors causing yen weakness remain."

During Monday's Asian trading session, the yen rose by 0.8% at one point before giving back some of those gains, sparking widespread discussion among traders about whether authorities had intervened again to support the currency. Earlier signs indicated that Japan may have invested approximately 5.4 trillion yen ($343 billion) in intervention last week after the yen fell past 160 per dollar.

On Tuesday, the yen was largely flat, trading at 157.24 yen per dollar.

The Japanese finance ministry official stated on Monday that, according to IMF rules, a maximum of three rounds of foreign exchange intervention within a six-month period can still be considered consistent with a "free-floating exchange rate system." The official noted that if authorities exceed this number, the IMF would typically reclassify the exchange rate regime as "floating" rather than "free-floating."

Joey Chew, Head of Asian FX Research at HSBC Holdings, said, "Japan has substantial foreign exchange reserves, which provide ample firepower for market intervention." He also pointed out, "The key is the effectiveness of the intervention—whether now is an appropriate time, given that oil prices are still rising."

Japanese Finance Minister Sakura Katsurama stated on Monday that authorities can respond decisively to speculative exchange rate movements in accordance with the U.S.-Japan agreement. An official also noted that even if Japan is on a public holiday, as long as global markets are open, such interventions would still be counted.