TOKYO: Japan said on Monday it would intervene in the currency market again if necessary, adding that it would monitor it closely.

Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki told a media briefing that the government was on high alert against speculative yen moves against the United States dollar, saying it was “strongly concerned” about them.

His remarks come after Japan’s yen-buying, dollar-selling operation last Thursday, the first since 1998.

This came on the heels of the Bank of Japan (BoJ) maintaining its ultra-loose monetary policy, with Governor Haruhiko Kuroda saying it was unlikely the central bank would hike rates in the next few years.

“We took appropriate action against excessive volatility driven by speculators. The intervention has had a certain effect,” Suzuki said. “There is no change in our stance that we will take further action if needed.”

Following the operation, the dollar dropped to the 140-yen zone after crossing the psychologically important 145-yen mark. On Monday, the dollar was trading at about 144 yen.

Local media cited market analysts as doubting whether Japan’s market intervention had any impact in countering the strength of the dollar against the yen, owing to a growing interest rate gap between the BoJ and its American counterpart, the Federal Reserve (Fed).

In stark contrast to the BoJ, the Fed has been aggressively hiking its rates to combat decades-high inflation.