The Japanese currency nosedived to 147.66 yen per US dollar on Thursday despite the finance ministry's monetary intervention on September 22, when the exchange rate reached 145.9 yen per dollar.
"We are closely watching market developments with a sense of heightened vigilance. We will take appropriate steps against excessive volatility," Suzuki told a press conference after the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Washington.
The minister also said that "excessive" fluctuations, led by speculators, would not be tolerated.
Last month, the Japanese Finance Ministry conducted the first currency intervention since June 1998 to buy the yen and sell the US dollar amid a continuing drop in value of the national currency. The measure temporarily allowed the Japanese currency to trade at 140 yen per US dollar. However, a few days later, the rate once again dropped to the level of 144-145 yen per US dollar.
The move followed the rise of the US dollar against world currencies, including the yen, after the US Federal Reserve raised benchmark interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on September 22. It was the fifth US rate hike since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.