The yen tumbled to the 146 range against the dollar at one point in the New York foreign exchange market on Wednesday.

That's lower than when the yen sank to 145.90 last September, prompting the Japanese government and the central bank to launch a dollar-selling and yen-buying intervention for the first time in 24 years.

Market sources say observers are waiting to see if the government and the Bank of Japan will intervene to stop the yen's decline. Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki Shunichi has noted officials are closely watching the foreign exchange market.

Some analysts say the Japanese economy benefits more overall from the yen's depreciation.

They note the situation is different from last autumn because inbound consumption by foreign tourists is increasing and the trade balance in June was in the black.

Fluctuations in the foreign exchange market tend to be larger this time of year as trading is limited due to summer holidays. This could be causing the yen to further weaken.