Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Thursday a weaker currency is "favorable" and he's glad the yen has retreated from a 14-year high against the dollar.
"There was concern about the damage that would be inflicted on exporters when the yen was rising," Kan told reporters. "A weakening yen, to some extent, is favorable."
Japan's currency has lost more than 5 percent against the dollar since touching 84.83 on Nov. 27, the highest since 1995.
The yen's advance was in part driven by shifting comments by Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii over whether he was prepared to intervene by selling the currency.
The rising yen and falling prices prompted the three-month-old Democratic Party of Japan-led government to unveil a ¥7.2 trillion stimulus package Dec. 8.