Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka said Tuesday a forum should be created so that countries can discuss the exchange rate of the Chinese yuan.
"We sometimes find it necessary to realign currencies, and thus there is a need to create a forum to discuss rules on that," Takenaka said.
He said exchange rates should not be determined by the interests of exporters or importers but set by relations among currencies.
Separately, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma said China should shift to a floating exchange system while making efforts to adjust itself to current conditions.
Referring to China's export drive backed by a weak yuan, Hiranuma said, "We cannot say there is no impact."
On Monday, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa and U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow agreed to urge China to rethink what kind of foreign exchange system would truly benefit the country.
Japanese and U.S. manufacturers have recently complained about the Chinese currency, which is pegged in a narrow range of around 8.28 yuan to the dollar.
They say the arrangement leads to a flood of cheap Chinese goods into their markets.