The weak yen means higher import prices of food and raw materials for Japan, which weighs on the rising inflation in the country, hitting many businesses and cooling down consumer sentiment.

The Bank of Japan will hold its next monetary policy meeting on Thursday and Friday.

Japan’s top financial authorities and the central bank on Friday said they were “concerned by the rapid depreciation of the yen”.

The ministry of finance, Bank of Japan and financial services agency released a document that emphasised “it is important for exchange rates to remain stable in line with fundamentals” and that “rapid fluctuations are undesirable”.

“The government and the Bank of Japan will closely cooperate and closely monitor developments in the foreign exchange market and their impact on the economy and prices with an increased sense of urgency.”