By MarketWatch TOKYO (MarketWatch) -- The dollar slipped against most rivals but gained against its Japanese counterpart in Asian trading Friday, after Japan's leader had some harsh words against yen strength and a report suggested the Bank of Japan will consider further easing steps at its meeting next week. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said during a session of the Upper House budget committee Friday that overseas financial crises "have brought about a strong yen that we don't believe reflects the fact that Japan's economic and industrial conditions aren't strong enough," according to Dow Jones Newswires. Hatoyama said, "I think we need to take firm steps against such yen strength," but didn't specify any steps. Explicit references by top leaders to the currency's strength are uncommon. Also Friday, a report in Japanese business daily Nikkei said the Bank of Japan's discussions on additional monetary easing at a two-day policy board meeting starting Tuesday will likely focus on a proposal to double the scale of a lending facility introduced in December. See full story on BOJ easing report. Expectations of BOJ liquidity steps "should be modestly Japanese yen-negative," said Tomoko Fujii, a rates and currency strategist at Bank of America Securities-Merrill Lynch, in emailed comments.. "As Japanese financial markets have begun to price in such a decision following media leaks, the BOJ will probably find it difficult to disappoint markets." The dollar was buying 90.62 yen in Tokyo afternoon trading, above 90.50 yen in late North American trading Thursday. The euro rose to buy $1.3697, from $1.3680 late Thursday, and the British pound was changing hands at $1.5051, compared with $1.5063. The dollar index (DXY 80.11, -0.21, -0.27%) , which measures the U.S. unit against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, slipped to 80.201 from 80.542 late Thursday.

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