Passersby walk past a screen displaying the Nikkei share average and current yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar outside a brokerage in Tokyo on Monday. | REUTERS Japan used a record of almost $74 billion over the past month to prop up the yen after the currency slid past ¥160 per dollar, according to Finance Ministry data confirming the government’s first market intervention since 2024. The ministry disclosed figures Friday for the month from April 28 to May 27 showing total intervention of ¥11.73 trillion ($73.6 billion) over a period marked by several spikes in the yen. The figures underscore the authorities’ determination to prevent a freefall of the yen and are the first official acknowledgment that the authorities stepped into the market after the yen hit ¥160.72 against the dollar. A person familiar with the matter had said Japan intervened on April 30, and speculation has continued of further rounds of yen-buying in subsequent days.…