Japan concerned about yen rise

TOKYO, Nov. 27 (UPI) -- Japan Friday closely monitored the rising yen against the U.S. dollar with its finance minister saying the government will take necessary steps if needed.

Hirohisa Fujii told reporters the Japanese currency's sharp jump to a 14-year high against the greenback was "one-sided." Such a trend could further adversely affect the export-dependent Japanese economy, which the government last week said was experiencing mild deflation due to declining prices and wages.

Fujii said if the yen continues to rise in one direction, the government will act appropriately as needed, Kyodo News reported.

The minister also indicated Japan may ask for cooperation from the United States and European nations to help ease the situation, the report said.

"That may be one of the options we could take depending on conditions,'' Fujii said.

Economy and Industry Minister Masayuki Naoshima was quoted as saying the current exchange rates were "beyond the assumed rates of many companies," noting Japanese exporters would suffer as a higher yen would make their exports dearer.

Also on Friday, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet discussed the situation, raising expectations in the stimulus package under consideration.

On Friday, the dollar hit the 84-yen level in early trading before recovering.

Kyodo quoted dealers that they expect the yen to appreciate further by year-end as investors dump the dollar on expectations of the United States maintaining its easy monetary policy with low interest rates to stimulate the economic recovery.