Japan could intervene in the foreign exchange market "anytime" to prevent the yen from plunging further, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Thursday, hours after the currency hit a 24-year low against the U.S. dollar. "We cannot accept excessive movements" of the currency market, which would drag down the household and corporate sectors, said Masato Kanda, Japan's top currency diplomat, adding, "We are fully ready" to take all options to stem the yen's abrupt depreciation. Kanda, however, added the Japanese government has not stepped into the foreign exchange market recently.
