The euro hit a record high against the yen above the psychologically significant barrier of 150 yen on Wednesday as investors favoured a more bullish interest rate outlook in the euro zone over Japan.
Investors kept hammering the low-yielding yen, selling it to buy higher-yielding currencies including the euro, sterling and Swiss Franc.
A number of weak Japanese data, including an unexpected fall in July retail sales reported on Wednesday and below forecast inflation figures last week have also hurt the yen by lowering expectations of another interest rate hike by end 2006.
The European Central Bank, when it meets on Thursday, is widely expected to signal that it will next raise borrowing costs from the current 3 percent in October.
By 11:17 GMT, the euro stood at 150.13 yen having hit 150.30 earlier -- the strongest level since the single currency's launch in 1999.
The Swiss franc rose above 95.40 yen to its highest since October 1998. In the past week, the pound has hit eight-year highs and the Canadian dollar 14-year peaks against the yen.
Against the dollar, the euro hit a one-week high of $1.2853 before retreating to trade around $1.2816.