Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi said on Friday that the country would take decisive action on the currency market if necessary, adding that he would not hesitate to conduct solo intervention to counter speculative moves.

Speaking to a Diet committee, Azumi said that the government stepped into the currency market last fall to weaken the yen after the U.S. dollar fell to 75.63 yen, making a rare reference to a currency level that triggered authorities to take action.

"When the dollar fetched 75.63 yen, I gave an instruction, believing that unless we intervene, the Japanese economy would fall into a critical situation," Azumi told a session of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives.

The minister also said he had ordered the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Japan to stop the intervention after the dollar recovered to 78.20 yen. The yen-selling operation was "effective to some extent" because the dollar traded in a range between 77 and 78 yen toward the end of last year, he said.

Azumi's remarks shocked market players as specific levels are usually restricted from discussion by policymakers to avoid giving hints to market players.

But Azumi later in the day denied he mentioned specific rates for foreign exchange intervention. Azumi said that in the Diet, he only read the numbers mentioned by an opposition lawmaker who questioned him. "It is not that I mentioned any (specific) level" to order an intervention.

Azumi added current foreign exchange rates do not reflect Japan 's economic fundamentals.

"I won't hesitate to intervene when speculative moves drive fluctuations in the exchange rate. I'll keep this stance and be ready to conduct solo intervention," Azumi told the lower house budget committee.

However, the reaction of currency traders to Azumi's remarks was muted.

At noon Friday, the dollar traded at 77.63-64 yen against 77.61- 71 yen in New York and 77.22-23 yen in Tokyo at 05:00 p.m. local time Thursday, with little influenced by Azumi's new warning of intervention.

Japan sold a record 8.07 trillion yen in the intervention conducted on Oct. 31 and an additional 1.02 trillion yen during the four days through Nov. 4, according to ministry data.

Azumi's remarks came after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said Thursday that interventions in the foreign exchange market should be done on a multilateral basis, taking a position against unilateral actions.

Also, the United States has already indicated it does not back Japan's unilateral interventions. (One U.S. dollar = 7.68 yen)