It's hard to imagine the yen declining much further from its current lows, said a former deputy to Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda when he was in charge of the nation's currency policy.
The exchange rate is lower than it has been in more than 40 years when adjusted for inflation and trade with other nations, said Takatoshi Ito, who worked with Kuroda at the Ministry of Finance in 1999 and 2000. Intervention to counter the yen's weakness is unlikely, barring any sudden, unwarranted moves, he said in an interview in Tokyo on Friday.
"It would be surprising if the Japanese government intervenes in currency markets now," said Ito, 64, who sold Kuroda on the idea of inflation targeting. "It's difficult to justify such action unless there are excessively sudden movements."