31.   The yen has weakened against the dollar in the last year.

32.   The yen has weakened against the dollar recently but remains strong when compared with its levels of a few years ago.

33.   The yen weakened against other major currencies, including the deutsche mark.

34.   The yen weakened against the mark.

35.   The yen noticeably weakened, partly on remarks by Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa that an agency that manages public pension funds would buy bonds.

36.   The yen weakened briefly against the dollar after the downgrade.

37.   The yen also weakened against the mark amid speculation German inflation could accelerate, prompting the Bundesbank to raise interest rates.

38.   The yen weakens further.

39.   The yen will further weaken because the Bank of Japan is unlikely to raise interest rates from record lows until the economy fully recovers, economists said.

40.   These investors had speculated Japanese monetary officials would not want to see the yen weaken further.