Japan is concerned about weak yen’s negative effects, Finance Minister says

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday he is concerned about negative effects of the weak yen as the currency has continued to slide this year.

The dollar hovered around 155.58 yen on Friday morning after surpassing the 155 yen level late on Wednesday in Asia, the highest since 1990 and heightening the chance of currency intervention by Japanese authorities.

Suzuki said he was closely watching currency moves and is prepared to take action.

Suzuki’s remark came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. dollar has been strong and interventions by other governments in currency markets is acceptable only in rare and extraordinary circumstances.

Suzuki declined to comment on Yellen’s remarks.

(Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Shri Navaratnam)