/www.bloomberg.com/ By Mayumi Otsuma and Daisuke Takato
Tokyo, Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said the government may take steps to stem the yen's gains against the dollar.
``It's extraordinary that the yen has risen by 5 to 6 yen per dollar in just one week,'' he said at a twice-weekly news conference. ``We may need to consider some warning action.''
The yen was at 121.33 yen to the dollar at 11:22 a.m. in Tokyo from 121.41 late yesterday in New York. The yen has risen 3.7 percent in the last eight days.
He also said he wants the next Bank of Japan governor to be someone ``currently working in the private sector,'' and dedicated to fighting four years of falling prices. Central bank governor Masaru Hayami will step down on March 19.
The next governor ``should be someone who will definitely cooperate with Japan's policies, specifically, someone who can make utmost efforts to combat deflation,'' Shiokawa said.
Japan's tax revenue in the fiscal year starting April 1 will total about 42 trillion yen ($346 billion), Shiokawa said.