(For more stories on Japan's new government, click)
* Fujii opposes intervention as currency moves not rapid
* Yen jumps 0.5 pct versus dollar to 90.50 yen after comment
* Fujii says strong yen has its merits for Japan
(Adds comments, details)
By Tetsushi Kajimoto
TOKYO, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Japan's new finance minister said on Wednesday he opposed currency intervention as long as market moves were moderate, prompting the yen to jump 0.5 percent against the dollar.
"I don't think they are fluctuating rapidly now," Hirohisa Fujii, 77, told reporters in parliament when asked about the speed of recent currency moves, on his first day on the job.
A yen rally to a seven-month high of 90.18 against the dollar on Monday has sparked speculation the Japanese authorities might intervene to stem the rise. It hit a 14-year high of 87.10 in January.
"I'm against intervention if their moves are gradual and we can't conduct intervention because the current foreign exchange markets won't move without a joint intervention," Fujii said.
"But I can't think other countries will conduct joint intervention even though the yen rises slightly."
His comments drove the Japanese yen about 0.5 percent higher to around 90.50 per dollar as they reinforced expectations that Japan's new ruling Democratic Party would be more tolerant of a higher yen than the outgoing Liberal Democratic Party.
"Fujii has clarified that he's not in favour of intervention, and that pushed the dollar lower against the yen," said Gerrard Katz, head of foreign exchange trading at Standard Chartered in Hong Kong.
"The dollar has been a little soft and this market move could become a trend. Japan hasn't intervened in a long time, so the reality is that there's no change in policy there.
"But the markets will latch onto comments about the benefits of a strong yen."
Yukio Hatoyama was voted in as Japan's prime minister by parliament earlier on Wednesday, ushering in an untested government to deal with a struggling economy and the deep-seated problems of a fast-ageing population.
Hatoyama's choice of Fujii to return for his second stint as finance minister has soothed concerns the new government's spending programmes will inflate an already huge public debt.
STRONG YEN HAS MERITS
Fujii said Japan should consider taking some steps if speculative trading causes a rapid currency swing, but added that the market was not in such a situation at the moment.
He repeated his view that a strong yen has merits for Japan's economy, echoing views shared among some Democratic Party lawmakers that Japan should start thinking of a strong yen as being in its interest, a departure from the previous government's fear that a stronger yen would hurt exporters.
"It may be true that a strong yen hurts exports but if you look at the overall economy, it lowers prices. We must look at those sort of things comprehensively," Fujii said. "I think it's a one-sided thinking if you oppose a strong yen because of exports."
Big Japanese manufacturers expected the yen to be slightly below 95 yen against the dollar for the current financial year to next March, the Bank of Japan's tankan survey showed in July.
Toyota Motor Corp has said every one-yen rise would knock 30 billion yen ($332 million) off its annual operating profits, which could weigh on its shares.
"The new government is seen as tolerant towards a stronger yen, which is negative for the stock market," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, manager at SMBC Friend Securities. "Investors are now cautiously looking for further comments on its currency policy." ($1=90.27 Yen) (Additional reporting by Shigeo Kodama, Stanley White and Aiko Hayashi; Editing by Rodney Joyce and Dean Yates)