The yen was also under pressure on expectations that Japanese lawmakers may vote favourably for tax rises, giving the Bank of Japan more leeway to ease monetary policy. .

The dollar rose to a high of 79.958 yen on trading platform EBS, its highest since May 23, and up 0.5 percent on the day. Japanese exporter offers are cited at 80 yen with stop-loss orders reported above 80.10 yen, traders said.

The euro was also hovering near a one-month high against the yen, trading at 101.301 yen, up 0.3 percent on the day.