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BY TAKASHI NAKAMICHI, TAKASHI MOCHIZUKI AND YUKA HAYASHI

TOKYO—The Japanese government said it jumped into currency markets for the first time in more than six years Wednesday morning, intervening to try to stem the yen's sharp rise.

The announcement came as policy makers and Japanese business leaders have grown increasingly worried that the currency's ascent has endangered the fragile recovery of the export-led economy, risking pricing out of markets around the world. Yen worries have pushed the Nikkei Stock Average into bear market territory in recent weeks.

Tokyo stocks jumped nearly 2% Wednesday morning as traders started reporting the intervention, which was later confirmed at a press conference ...