* Yen falls broadly as Asian shares rise
* Dollar trims initial losses against yen
* G7 seen unlikely to issue strong message on currencies
By Masayuki Kitano
TOKYO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The yen fell broadly, shedding initial gains against the dollar on Friday as regional stock markets rose on hopes for a U.S. government programme to subsidise mortgages.
The dollar dipped against the yen initially amid talk of dollar selling by Japanese exporters, but later shed its losses and turned higher. "Equities are firm, and the market is carrying over the trend from overseas when the yen fell on crosses on the news of U.S. aid for housing loans," said a trader for a major Japanese bank.
The dollar rose against the yen in late U.S. trading on Thursday as U.S. stocks came off session lows after sources familiar with the plan told Reuters that the Obama administration is hammering out a programme to subsidise mortgages.
The yen, which tends to fluctuate based on perceived shifts in investors' risk appetite, fell broadly as Asian equities rose, with Japan's benchmark Nikkei share average rising 1.5 percent. The dollar rose 0.3 percent to 91.20 yen, having pulled up from the day's low near 90.55 yen.
The euro rose 0.4 percent to $1.2912 and climbed 0.8 percent versus the yen to 117.80 yen. The Australian dollar rallied 1.3 percent against the yen to 60.01 yen.
Although the market was keeping an eye on a meeting of Group of Seven finance officials in Rome on Friday and Saturday, market players said the G7 was unlikely to issue a strong message on currencies in general or the yen in particular.
"Few market players are expecting the G7 to come out with a strong message on the yen," said Masafumi Yamamoto, head of foreign exchange strategy for Japan at the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The G7 issued an unusual statement in late October expressing concern about excessive volatility in the yen.
But it will not be a surprise if the G7 makes no explicit mention of the yen in its post-meeting statement this week, Yamamoto said.
"It's not as if the yen is rising one-way as was the case in October," Yamamoto said.
Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said on Friday he does not intend to specifically raise the issue of currencies at the G7, but would reiterate that rapid moves are undesirable. (Editing by Michael Watson)