Scott Bessent wanted to help Japan prop up its currency. So he decided to let the media spy on his notepad, where a to-do list included buying as much as $10 billion in yen.

It was an unorthodox tactic, but that’s become a Bessent hallmark. In a previous life on Wall Street, he made $1 billion on big currency bets while working for George Soros. As U.S. President Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary, he launched a high-risk rescue plan for Argentina. Now, he’s coming to the aid of another U.S. ally.

The joint campaign by Washington and Tokyo to shore up the yen is the first of its kind in almost three decades. Beyond the notepad maneuver, Bessent has tapped a range of tools that surprised some Treasury watchers, like deploying U.S. holdings of euros and talking up a Federal Reserve facility that Japan could use.