Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Monday that Japan was ready to take decisive action in currency markets, issuing a fresh warning to markets against pushing up the yen too much in the wake of its rise last week to a record high. "The dollar/yen rate fell sharply, to between 75 and 76 yen, in a short time. This is an utterly speculative move and not reflecting the economic fundamentals at all. This is regrettable," Azumi told reporters. "If this move becomes excessive, we have to take decisive action. I already instructed my staff on Saturday to be prepared to take action." He added that the strong yen would ... (full story)