* Yen suffers broadly after Kan comments on weaker currency
* Aussie rallies broadly after strong Australian data
* Market awaits U.S. jobless figures on Friday
(Adds comment, updates throughout; previous TOKYO)
By Naomi Tajitsu
LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The yen fell against the dollar and other currencies on Thursday after Japan's new finance minister said he wanted it to weaken more, stirring talk the government may be more inclined to stem any sharp yen rise.
The Australian dollar rallied broadly, hitting a one-month high versus the dollar and climbing to its strongest against the yen since September 2008 after strong retail sales data bolstered the case for another interest rate rise next month.
Speaking after being appointed finance minister, Naoto Kan on Thursday said many Japanese firms were in favour of dollar/yen around 95 yen, higher than the pair has been trading in the latter part of 2009.
He added he would work with the Bank of Japan to get the yen to an appropriate level, triggering broad selling in the Japanese currency and pushing dollar/yen to the day's high.
"The comments were very aggressive and the yen sell-off is appropriate ... Kan's view of where dollar/yen should be makes sense," said Paul Mackel, director of currency strategy at HSBC in London.
"The new comments today put further fuel in the fire to push the yen lower and the trend in yen weakness is going to continue."
The dollar's rally against the yen helped boost the U.S. currency across the board, but gains were capped as traders braced for U.S. payrolls data due on Friday, which was seen providing stronger direction for currencies in the new year.
By 0925 GMT, the dollar traded 0.4 percent higher on the day at 92.75 yen, near the day's high around 92.90 yen hit after Kan's comments.
The yen tumbled broadly, pushing the euro up around 0.3 percent to the day's high of 133.57 yen.
The Australian dollar rallied as high as $0.9268, its strongest since early December, on the back of data showing Australian retail sales in November grew a surprisingly strong 1.4 percent..
Those figures sparked a broad rally in the Australian currency, which hit a two-year high of 0.6415 euros and extended its gains against sterling to $1.7312, its highest since 1985.
The euro slipped 0.3 percent to the day's low of $1.4356, helping to push the dollar's value against a basket of currencies up 0.3 percent.
The euro hit its weakest against the Swiss franc in nearly 10 months around 1.4767 francs, before pulling back up to 1.4830 as traders became jittery about the possibility the Swiss central bank may step in to curb strength in the currency.
PAYROLLS AWAITED
Traders were wary of taking on big currency positions as they are keen to see the non-farm payrolls report for December on Friday, which could help shape the outlook for when the U.S. Federal Reserve may raise interest rates.
"Investors are waiting for the U.S. jobs report on Friday but the current climate in the market is one of investors willing to take risk," said Tomohiro Nishida, treasury department manager at Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking in Tokyo.
The report is expected to show the economy shed 8,000 jobs in December, after a surprisingly small 11,000 drop in November, a Reuters poll showed.
The U.S. currency had lost ground against the euro on Wednesday when minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting suggested more stimulus measures for the U.S. economy were possible.
(Additional reporting by Tokyo Forex Team, editing by Nigel Stephenson)