Japan's Noda suggests joint steps difficult

Tokyo: Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said yesterday that Tokyo would take decisive steps to stem the yen's rise when needed, while suggesting that coordinated currency market intervention was a difficult option.

Traders are getting cautious about bidding the yen up too much after Japanese ministers kept up warnings against the currency's surge to 15-year high versus the dollar.

Intervention

Policymakers have repeatedly said they could take decisive action on the yen — normally a code phrase for currency intervention. Prime Minister Naoto Kan and ruling party powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa are facing off in a ruling party leadership vote on September 14 that is distracting policymakers as Japan confronts a strong yen and weak economy. The winner will likely be prime minister by virtue of the party's majority in the powerful lower house.