Japan’s Currency Chief Sees Threat From Very Rapid Gains in Yen

“Very rapid” gains in the yen are “counter-productive” and Japanese officials are closely monitoring the foreign-exchange market, the nation’s top currency official said.

“The disorderly and speculative movement of any currency is not constructive” for economic growth, Vice Finance Minister Takehiko Nakao said in an interview yesterday in Hong Kong, where he’s attending a meeting of the Financial Stability Board. This is especially so for Japan as the nation recovers from last year’s earthquake and tsunami, he said.