The dollar appears likely to continue hovering around 120 yen for some time.
Recent remarks by Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and Bank of Japan Gov. Masaru Hayami have been taken to indicate they are prepared to see the yen weaken further.
In a speech in Tokyo, Hayami said that drastic policy options could include intervention in the currency market to drive down the yen, while Miyazawa told a Diet committee session that the nation's public finances are approaching a state of collapse.