While conceding his words may have been inappropriate, Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the remark was intended to help explain the need for more wage growth

Unlike its US and European counterparts, the BoJ does not face a trade-off between the need to tame inflation and support the economy, Kuroda says

The central bank risks upsetting the public as the weak yen drives up the price of imported goods going into Japan's upper house election expected on July 10

The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile fresh food prices but includes fuel costs, jumped 0.8% in March from a year earlier, data showed

Though deputy chief cabinet secretary Seiji Kihara repeated Tokyo's common refrain that sharp moves in currency rates were undesirable

The greenback hits a 20-year high on the yen and tests a two-year peak on the euro, backed by high Treasury yields and expectation of good economic data; Investors are betting the yen will fall further

The yen has dropped about 10% against the dollar this year and worsened inflationary pressures in Japan amid a spike in commodity and oil costs, and supply snags made worse by war in Ukraine

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also said the recent rise in domestic inflation was due mostly to the global spike in crude oil and raw material costs, rather than the weak yen

The yen was trading at more than 126 against the dollar at one time, reaching the lowest level since May 2002

The data added to concerns that Japanese firms are holding off on investments amid a profit squeeze from rising energy and raw materials costs

The deficit could reach $130 billion for fiscal 2022 if crude oil bounces back to $130 a barrel and the yen trades at 120 against the dollar

The Bank of Japan must maintain ultra-easy policy for a prolonged period to sustainably hit its 2% inflation target, the fund said in a staff report