TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei share average rose 2% on Thursday, buoyed by a softer yen as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s dovish comments reduced bets of further tightening in monetary policy.

The Nikkei closed 1.97% higher at 38,552.06, while the broader Topix finished up 1.2% at 2,683.71.

Ishiba said Japan is not in an environment for an additional rate increase, in an apparent effort to shake off his reputation as a monetary hawk, after a meeting with Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda on Wednesday.

The yen touched a six-week low against the dollar, after rallying in the wake of Ishiba’s win in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s leadership election on Friday.

The yen and Japanese stocks tend to move in opposite directions, since a stronger domestic currency hurts exporters’ competitiveness when repatriating revenue. The Nikkei’s gains slowed somewhat as the index neared the psychologically significant 39,000 level.