Mimura replaces Kanda, who launched huge yen intervention
Markets see little change in Japan39;s FX policy
Policymakers continue to jawbone markets as yen keeps falling

TOKYO, June 28 Reuters Japan appointed a new top foreign exchange diplomat on Friday as the yen plumbed a 38year low against the dollar, heightening expectations of imminent market intervention by Tokyo to shore up the battered currency.

Atsushi Mimura, a financial regulation veteran, replaces Masato Kanda, who launched the biggest yenbuying intervention on record this year and aggressively jawboned speculators against pushing down the Japanese currency too much.

While the change is part of a regular personnel reshuffle conducted every year, it comes as markets test Japan39;s resolve to arrest a renewed fall in the yen that adds pain to households and companies by pushing up import costs.

Kanda appeared to be someone aggressive, given his comments that authorities were on standby to intervene any time of the day, said Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Daiichi Life Research Institute, adding that his departure could affect how Japan communicates its currency policy.

But it39;s hard to say until we see how his successor steers policy. All in all, I don39;t think the big policy direction would change much.

Japanese officials reiterated their warnings as the yen slid past 161 per dollar on Friday, well below levels that triggered the last bout of intervention in endApril and early May.

Excessive…