Traders are piling into fresh bets against the yen, triggering pushback from Japanese authorities who are threatening once again to take action including a possible currency intervention.

The yen edged away from a year-to-date low Wednesday after Masato Kanda, the top currency official at the Finance Ministry, said authorities stand ready to act if needed.

¡°We¡¯re on standby,¡± Kanda told reporters, echoing language he used a year ago on the day Japan made the first of three forays into the market. ¡°But I can¡¯t say what we¡¯ll do, and when ¡ª we¡¯ll make judgments overall, and we¡¯re making judgments in a state of urgency.¡±