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TOKYO, July 23 (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama repeated on Thursday that the government was ready to take decisive action on foreign exchange as needed, as the yen remained on the defensive near 40-year lows.
"Our stance has not changed at all. We will take decisive action if necessary. That's all," Katayama told reporters at the Ministry of Finance when asked about the yen's weakness.
Katayama added that she would not comment on specific foreign exchange levels.
The yen recovered slightly from a four-decade low of 163.24 per dollar but remained around 163 as investors adjusted to a shifting policy backdrop under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, whose administration has struggled to dispel views it may pressure the BOJ to delay further rate hikes.
Katayama's wording was almost identical as comments on Wednesday, making little impact on the currency market as it gave little clues to the timing of next possible intervention.
Japan spent a record 11.7 trillion yen ($72 billion) intervening in foreign exchange markets between late April and early May.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki, Editing by Chang-Ran Kim and Kim Coghill)
