Japan May Take Action on Its Currency If Required, Prime Minister Says

Naoto Kin, the Japanese Prime Minister, said that massive currency fluctuations are not desirable and that the government may take action on its currency if required, after the yen reached its highest level against the dollar in 15 years.

“We will take bold measures if they are absolutely necessary", Mr. Kan said in his remarks broadcasted by national television NHK on Thursday.

Japan managed to sell over 2 trillion yen on 15th September in its first FOREX market intervention in about six years. The move failed to cap the strength of the yen, which has appreciated over 10% this year against the dollar.

Earlier today, Vice Finance Minister Mitsuru Sakurai said that the country's currency policy is “the responsibility of the finance minister”, in response to a question about the currency's surge to the highest level since 1995.

The yen is currently trading at 81.22 to one US dollar, after touching 80.89 earlier.

Kan's remarks about the yen come after he urged South Korea and China to stop keeping their currencies weak. “Guiding one’s currency lower is against the overall coordination process,” he said in parliament yesterday. “We’d like South Korea and China to take responsible actions according to the common rules".

Kim Ik Joo of South Korea, who is director general of global finance at Ministry of Strategy and Finance, said that he lodged protest with Japan’s Ministry of Finance. But he didn't tell who he spoke with.

Tokyo's intervention in its currency had attracted criticism from US politicians and European policymakers.