Fresh after a victory in party leadership contest, Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan appeared to be stepping up efforts to wrench the country out of deflation by targeting yen strength, which has weighed on stock prices and corporate profits.

 

Estimates vary on how much Japan has spent so far in its first intervention in the foreign exchange market since spending 35 trillion yen in 2003-2004. Dealers talk about 300-500 billion yen ($3.61-6.02 billion) though some reports put it closer to 100 billion yen.

 

The U.S. dollar extended its gains against the yen after an official at Japan's Ministry of Finance said intervention was not finished, climbing more than 2 percent on the day above 85 yen and nearly two yen above a 15-year low.

 

Wednesday's action pleased its target audience: major Japanese exporters.