JAPANESE Finance Minister Taro Aso yesterday said it was not Tokyo's goal to weaken the yen and its policies were purely aimed at beating deflation, brushing off foreign concerns about currency wars ahead of a G20 meeting in Moscow.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's call for aggressive action by the Bank of Japan, which has prompted a slide in the yen, has raised alarm in Europe it could contribute to a "currency war" as other central banks adopt similar policies.

"We have launched policies aimed at ending deflation. As a result, the stock price has risen and the yen has weakened," Aso told Japanese public broadcaster NHK yesterday. "(The yen weakness) is not the goal, the goal is to beat deflation," he said.

Japan may have to defend its actions at a Group of 20 meeting of financial leaders on February 15-16 to stem the criticism of its plan to revive its economic fortunes.

The BOJ last month agreed to double its inflation target to 2 percent and committed to buying assets from 2014.