By MarketWatch TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The dollar gained on the yen in Asian trading Friday after a report suggested the Bank of Japan might consider further easing steps, which weighed on the Japanese currency. The BOJ's policy board is expected to discuss such steps at a two-day meeting starting March 16, Japanese business daily Nikkei reported. See full story on BOJ easing plan. "I haven't heard such a message directly from the BOJ. But both the government and the bank share the stance that each has to make its own efforts to beat deflation," Japanese Finance Minister Naoto Kan said Friday, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The dollar rose against the Japanese currency, to buy 89.26 yen, up from 89.12 yen in late North American trading Thursday. The dollar index (DXY 80.53, -0.03, -0.03%) , which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, traded at 80.581, up from 80.575 late Thursday. The euro changed hands at $1.3576, compared with $1.3577 late Thursday, and the British pound was at $1.5032, compared with $1.5031. Both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England left key lending rates unchanged Thursday at record lows in the face of an uncertain economic recovery. Officials at both sounded dovish, he said, weighing on their respective currencies versus the dollar. See full story on ECB, BOE rate decisions. On Thursday, the U.S. dollar gained versus the euro and other major currencies after a surprisingly weak report on U.S. home sales triggered worries about the pace of the economy's recovery. See Thursday's Currencies report.

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