Japan finmin Aso says yen slide "rough," will watch closely

DRESDEN, Germany, May 28 (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso on Thursday said a weakening of Japan's yen currency in recent days had been "rough" and he would monitor moves in the foreign exchange markets carefully.

The dollar climbed to a 12-1/2-year high against the yen earlier on Thursday as investors bet that U.S. interest rates would rise later this year while Japanese monetary policy remains ultra-loose.

"The current yen weakening in the past few days has been rough. I will closely monitor market moves," Aso told reporters on the sidelines of a gathering of finance ministers and central bank chiefs of the Group of Seven countries in Germany.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by David Ljunggren)