Japan intervenes to hold down rising yen

Japan today sold the yen for the second time in less than three months after it recorded another high against the dollar, saying the intervention was necessitated as a measure to counter speculative moves that were hurting the economy.

Finance minister Jun Azumi said Tokyo stepped into the market on its own this morning and would continue to intervene until it was satisfied with the results.

The government's latest move comes after weeks of warnings that its patience with the yen's strength was snapping and comes just days ahead of the Group of 20 leaders' summit in Cannes, France.

The summit would focus on Europe's efforts to contain its sovereign debt crisis and avoid a repeat of the financial shock sent the markets reeling after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

However, Tokyo is keen to get the G20 on its side that a strong yen was one challenge too many for an economy struggling to come to grips with a nuclear crisis, a $250 billion rebuilding effort from a March earthquake and tsunami and ballooning public debt.

Japan also points out that the yen was sought by investors concerned over the euro zone debt crisis and a faltering US growth and demand had little to do with the fragile health of the Japanese economy.