As investors brace for the Japanese yen to fall back to levels of 150 yen per US dollar or even lower, the risk of intervention by Japanese authorities has once again come into focus.

After two consecutive weeks of weakening, the yen fell to 149.98 yen per US dollar at one point on Monday. Data shows that the yen's exchange rate against the US dollar fell by about 4.4% in the week ending October 5, marking the largest single-week decline since December 2009. The prospect of further depreciation of the yen has prompted strategists to warn of an increased risk of intervention by Japanese authorities near 150 yen per US dollar (the 200-day moving average is 151.25 yen per US dollar).

Recent warnings from Japanese officials imply that the market now believes the narrowing of the US-Japan interest rate differential will not be as fast as previously expected. Japan's new Prime Minister, Shigeo Ishihara, made a statement earlier this month that "the Japanese economy is not yet ready to accept another rate hike from the Bank of Japan," which eased market concerns about a rate hike by the Bank of Japan and led to a rapid decline in the yen. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Governor Waller said on Monday that the Fed should be cautious about lowering interest rates.

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Takuya Kanda, head of research at Gaitame.com Research Institute in Tokyo, said: "The key is whether the yen will break through 152 yen per US dollar." He pointed out that this is a key level for the yen because the last time the yen fell below this level, it quickly fell towards 160 yen per US dollar.

In July of this year, when the yen's exchange rate against the US dollar hit a 38-year low, Japanese authorities intervened. After that, the yen's exchange rate against the US dollar rebounded significantly from 161.95 yen per US dollar at the beginning of July to 149.98 yen per US dollar at the end of July.

According to data from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), as of October 8, leveraged funds' net long positions in yen fell for the second consecutive week, indicating that they are less optimistic about the yen. Keiichi Iguchi, a senior strategist at Resona Holdings, said that if expectations for the Fed to lower interest rates are revised, the yen could still face selling pressure.

However, some strategists believe that Japanese authorities still have a long way to go before deciding to intervene again. Eiichiro Miura, head of the strategic investment department at Nissay Asset Management, said: "Unless the yen falls below 160 yen per US dollar, (Japanese authorities) will not intervene."