But yen is ultimately headed lower, says trader ReutersJapan's Finance Minister Taro Aso is not happy about the yen’s sharp plunge.The yen strengthened on Friday in Asia after Japan’s finance minister expressed his concerns over rapid falls in the nation’s currency. Taro Aso said “the pace of the decline in the past week has been too fast” and sharp swings in the exchange rate are undesirable. The Japanese currency USDJPY, -0.24% fell Thursday to ¥118.98 per dollar, a seven-year low, according to EBS via CQG. Over the past month, the yen has lost 10%, driven by Japanese stimulus and expectations for U.S. tightening. The yen has fallen 8.2% against the euro. “I think this is intended to limit the pace (of yen weakening),” said Shinji Kureda, head of foreign exchange trading at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Mr. Kureda said he expects the yen to trend weaker and its moves to become more volatile in the coming days. In recent weeks, the yen has dropped against most other major currencies, including other Asian currencies such as the Korean won, the Singapore dollar, the Indian rupee, amid expectations for increasing foreign securities investments from Japanese investors. Mr. Aso’s remark came just before Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved parliament for general elections on Dec. 14. Atsushi Hirano, head of FX sales Japan at Royal Bank of Scotland, said how many seats Mr. Abe will be able to secure is going to be in focus toward the end of the year. Meanwhile, investors are also paying attention to when the Federal Reserve will give a clearer signal for a rate hike, which could bolster the case for the yen’s further falls against the dollar. The dollar was at ¥117.83, compared with ¥118.20 late Thursday in New York. marketwatch