Investing.com - The Japanese yen slumped to the lowest level since October 2008 against the dollar and the euro on Thursday, amid expectations that the Bank of Japan will have to expand its stimulus program in the coming months, in order to meet its target of 2% inflation by 2015. The yen weakened after minutes of the BoJ's November policy meeting revealed that that not all board members were convinced that the country's growth was on a long-term upward trend. Investors also reacted to comments made by BoJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who said that the nation's economy hadn't yet completely wiped out deflation. USD/JPY rose to a session high of 104.84, the highest since October 5, 2008, during European morning trade, before subsequently consolidating at 104.77, up 0.37%. Demand for the greenback remained supported after the Federal Reserve announced last week that it would reduce its USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program by USD10 billion in January, due to an improving economic outlook. The U.S. was to release weekly data on initial jobless claims later in the day. Meanwhile, EUR/JPY rose to 143.46, the strongest since October 5, 2008, before subsequently consolidating at 143.38, up 0.46%. Trading volumes are expected to remain light as most market players are still off due to the Christmas holiday and as many traders already closed books before the end of the year.

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