TOKYO - The yen weakened beyond 163 to the dollar as fears of a further deterioration in the Middle East fueled safe-haven demand for the U.S. currency, pushing Japan's currency to its lowest level in about 39 and a half years. The government and the Bank of Japan spent about 11.7 trillion yen between late April and May to buy yen after the currency weakened into the upper 160 range against the dollar. Despite the scale of the intervention, the yen returned beyond 160 in less than a month and has now fallen below its pre-intervention level. The yen has weakened against currencies across Europe, Asia and the Americas over the past year. Intervention totaling about 9 trillion yen in 2022 and roughly 13.5 trillion yen in 2024 produced more visible declines in the dollar than the latest operation.