The Japanese yen held steady around 158 per dollar on Wednesday, but faced downward pressure after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s proposal to cut the 8% sales tax on food raised concerns about the fiscal outlook as it remains unclear how the government will make up for the lost revenue. Earlier this week, Takaichi announced she will dissolve parliament on Friday and call a snap general election on Feb. 8 to secure support for her spending plans and broader policies. Investors also eyed the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting later this week, where rates are widely expected to stay unchanged following a December hike. Traders remained alert to potential yen intervention amid worries about the impact of a weaker currency on domestic inflation. The yen, however, found some support from a softer dollar as escalating US-Europe tensions over Greenland hurt confidence in US assets.