Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Monday that the government would keep monitoring the currency market and respond appropriately, as the yen weakened to its lowest in more than a year near 152 to the dollar.

"Excessive moves are undesirable," Suzuki told reporters when asked about the government's steps on the foreign exchange market. "Currencies should be set by the market reflecting fundamentals."

The Japanese currency, down almost 14% this year, weakened again although markets remained alert to potential intervention to shore up the yen.

The dollar rose to 151.85 yen on Monday, its firmest level since October 2022. It was last up 0.2%, having rallied around 1.4% last week in its biggest weekly jump against the yen in three months. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Additional reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)