Govt To Stay Vigilant On Forex: Noda

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Tokyo will maintain a firm stance against foreign exchange market volatility, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Wednesday after the government and Bank of Japan intervened in the market to weaken the yen.

"(Japanese authorities) will continue to closely watch forex market trends," Noda said during a press conference at the ministry building. "We will take decisive steps, including market intervention, when necessary."

As for communication with U.S. and other overseas financial authorities, "The Japanese government is in close contact with relevant and necessary parties," Noda said.

But Noda declined to comment on how authorities overseas reacted to Japan's unilateral intervention.

Noda said he himself decided to intervene in the market, as such a measure is exclusively under the Finance Ministry's oversight. He told Prime Minister Naoto Kan about the unilateral move beforehand.

At 10:30 a.m., the ministry urged the Bank of Japan to conduct yen-selling, dollar-buying operations.

"I think the central bank had intervened in the market by 10:35 a.m.," Noda said.

Noda said the size of the intervention would be announced later, "once the intervention is complete."

A strong yen weakens the competitiveness of Japanese exporters' products overseas and erodes the exporters' earnings when they are repatriated.