Economic and fiscal policy minister Motohisa Furukawa said Thursday he and other economy-related ministers stand united on tackling the yen's excessive surge, with an eye on both maximizing the merits of a strong currency and helping small and midsize companies suffering from the high exchange rate.

Furukawa, who was named a Cabinet minister for the first time last week, said in an interview in Tokyo that he isn't in a position to comment on intervention or the effect of the government getting involved in the foreign-exchange market.

But he acknowledged that the current rate "is substantially high" and that the government will "handle the situation appropriately."