TOKYO, Jan 10: Senior Japanese finance ministry officials on Thursday joined a growing chorus of authorities voicing concerns over the yen’s recent sharp fall.

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa warned a decline in the Japanese currency was too fast while Ministry of Finance Senior Deputy Director General Zenbei Mizoguchi agreed the unit had been overly battered but said it was unlikely to worsen.

I feel the yen’s current fall against the dollar is a little bit rapid. In early January the dollar/yen stood at the 130-level and the more than two yen fall in the Japanese currency over the past 10 days has been too fast, Shiokawa told reporters.

Mizoguchi said the yen’s depreciation had “gone too far” and dismissed the notion of a further slide.

Basically, the yen is in a period of correction but I think it has gone too far and there is no market situation where it will proceed further unilaterally, he told reporters.

I am concerned over a rapid weakness in the yen and as a result we will keep watching the forex market closely, he said. Mizoguchi is a key official responsible for foreign exchange policy.

Japanese fundamentals remain strong in themselves. Of course it is weaker than the US and the EU. I do not believe there will be selling of ‘Japan’ ahead of the March book closing at many Japanese companies, he said.

Although the economy is in a period of adjustment, he noted, the current account remains in surplus.

Dealers said Shiokawa’s comments offered support to the Japanese unit, although the overall trend remained yen-negative in trading Thursday.

After pushing above 133 yen in early trading, the dollar was quoted at 132.27-30 yen down from 132.88-90 yen in New York and 132.50-53 yen in Tokyo late Wednesday.

Japanese officials have until now seemed tolerant of a weaker yen, which has lost around 10 percent in value against the dollar over the past two months as gloomy data from Japan’s recession-hit economy prompted investors to dump the currency.

The current level of the yen is within the range that Japan can cope with, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Wednesday.

But if (the exchange rate) moves too drastically, (Japan) may see difficulty in doing business.

Finance Minister Shiokawa himself cautioned against too steep a fall by the yen on December 25, while avoiding specifying an appropriate level against the dollar.—AFP