Japan not to discuss recent rise in yen at G-7 meeting: Fujii+

NARITA, Japan, Oct. 2 Kyodo -
Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii reiterated Friday he will not discuss the yen's
recent rise against the U.S. dollar at a weekend meeting of finance chiefs from
the Group of Seven industrialized countries in Turkey.

''I will not touch'' on the issue, Fujii told reporters at Narita airport
shortly before leaving for a half-day G-7 meeting Saturday in the Turkish city
of Istanbul.
He said it would be ''preferable'' if the currency market was ''stable'' and
reflected ''the actual conditions of the economy.''
''That's what it boils down to. Nothing more,'' Fujii said, indicating he has
nothing else to say related to foreign-exchange issues at the G-7 meeting, to
be participated in by finance ministers and central bank governors from
Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
Earlier this week, the yen's value hit a nine-month high relative to the dollar.
Traders have shown a strong appetite for the Japanese currency partly because
Fujii has made many remarks on foreign-exchange issues since becoming Japan's
finance chief Sept. 16, including those taken to suggest reluctance to
intervene in the currency market to stem the yen's rise.
Fujii said he plans to explain to other G-7 member economies Japan's economic
policy and a policy shift to focus more on promoting growth led by domestic
demand after a recent change of government with the Democratic Party of Japan's
sweeping victory in the general election.
He added that Tokyo will pledge to boost its commitment to international
cooperation at the G-7 talks.
==Kyodo
2009-10-02 23:54:23