Japan is not considering unloading dollars to diversify the currencies in its foreign-exchange reserves, the country's top currency bureaucrat said Thursday.
"Given current market conditions, it would be unwise for us to be selling dollars," Hiroshi Watanabe, vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters.
He said Japan would continue managing its reserves -- the largest in the world -- in a conservative fashion.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sparked a fall in the dollar when he told a parliamentary committee that Japan needed to invest in various currencies.
"I think it's necessary to have diversity. At the same time, taking into account what is profitable and what is safe, the overall situation must be considered," Koizumi said.
Even though the prime minister was only repeating the government's current position, the dollar dipped.