TOKYO, March 25 (Xinhua) -- The recent weakness of the Japanese yen has not been in line with economic fundamentals, Japanese Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs Masato Kanda said on Monday.

As the currency just saw a fresh four-month low against the U.S. dollar, Kanda warned that there are speculations behind the developments and that excessive fluctuations has a negative impact on the economy, according to Japanese news agency Jiji Press.

The official said that appropriate steps will be taken to respond to the yen's excessive weakness "without excluding any measures," giving no specific forex level when asked about the "defense line," according to local media reports.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) last week decided to end its negative interest rate policy in its first rate hike in 17 years, marking a major shift away from the long-running monetary easing that Japan has seen over the past decade to put an end to deflation.

The central bank's policy board decided to guide short-term rate to a range of 0 to 0.1 percent, up a fraction from minus 0.1 to 0 percent, judging that its goal of attaining a stable 2 percent inflation is "in sight."

Kanda's remarks also came after the dollar hit a four-month high of 151.86 yen Friday, approaching a key level of 151.94 yen marked in October 2022, when Japan carried out so-called stealth interventions, buying yen to sell dollars without announcing the moves immediately, Jiji report noted.