CAIRNS, Australia (REUTERS) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Saturday he told his Group of 20 counterparts that the world's third-largest economy continues to recover moderately despite the temporary pain from a sales tax hike in April.

He also said Japan stressed the importance of setting up appropriate financial regulation and macro-prudential frameworks to guard against any sudden change to the current low volatility market environment.

Asked whether the dollar's rise to 109 yen reflected economic fundamentals, Aso said: "We can't comment on such questions." Aso spoke to reporters after attending the first day of a two-day meeting of G20 finance leaders in the Australian city of Cairns.