The yen inched up against the dollar on Thursday on improved confidence in Japan about business conditions, while the euro stayed under pressure from expectations that European interest rates will head lower. Government data showed big Japanese companies were more confident about conditions in the three months to June, and even more so for the quarters ahead, despite a recent slowdown in exports. Separate figures on Thursday showed activity in Japan's services industry improved in April by a slightly bigger margin than expected. Still, upbeat Japanese data does not necessarily point to the yen reversing its fall of about 6 percent against the dollar since the start of the year, given that both the U.S. and Japanese economies are seen to be getting a second wind. "Even with the higher rates expectations for the U.S., the Japanese economy is also improving ... It's a difficult situation," said Tomoko Fujii, senior currency strategist at Bank of America in Tokyo.