Bank of Japan (BOJ) board member Goushi Kataoka said on Thursday that a weak Japanese yen was positive for Japan's economy as a whole, as reported by Reuters.

"The negative impact of the weak yen on the economy comes mainly through rising import costs," Kataoka added. Earlier in the day, Kataoka noted that he was not expecting inflation to gain momentum to sustainably head toward the bank's 2% target.

Market reaction

The USD/JPY pair continues to push higher following these comments and was last seen trading at its highest level in six years at 121.40, rising 0.2% on a daily basis.