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TOKYO, Sep 8 (Reuters) The yen hovered near a one-month high against the euro on Friday, holding big gains scored after a German finance official said the Japanese currency's weakness would be a topic at an upcoming Group of Seven meeting.

The G7 gathering in Singapore later this month has loomed large as investors look to see if finance ministers keep up pressure on countries enjoying big trade surpluses, notably China, to allow more currency appreciation.

The comments by Germany's deputy finance minister Thomas Mirow came as something of a surprise and prompted speculators to cover hefty short positions in the yen, with many expecting the Chinese yuan more than the yen to be a topic.

Some analysts say the remarks reflect unease over the persistent strength in the single European currency against the yen that has taken it up about 6 percent this year to all-time highs since the euro was launched in 1999.

Currency strategists at Morgan Stanley said it was unlikely the yen would be explicitly mentioned in the statement at the end of the G7 meeting, but ''further speculation that the yen may be specifically named in the statement and/or that global imbalances will be a focus cannot be denied''.

Japanese vice finance minister for international affairs Hiroshi Watanabe said currencies will be one topic but declined to say which one will be in focus.

In April, in an annex to the post-meeting statement, G7 finance ministers called explicitly for appreciation of currencies of emerging countries with big trade surpluses to help fix global imbalances, sparking a rally in the yen.

But some analysts believe the G7 may drop the annex at this meeting after the confusion it generated in April.

The dollar changed hands at 116.33 yen slipping from late New York trade but off the low of 115.98 yen struck in the previous session.

The euro also eased to 148.00 yen and was near Thursday's low of 147.84 yen on electronic trading platform EBS, the weakest since Aug. 11.

The single currency was little changed at $1.2725 Market players are keeping an eye out for any comments on the yuan while U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Asian finance ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum meet in Vietnam for a second and final day.

On Thursday the dollar strengthened against European currencies, helped after San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen said the central bank still had a bias towards raising interest rates further.

The Fed paused a two-year credit tightening campaign in August, leaving overnight rates at 5.25 percent and saying a slowdown in growth should help bring down inflation.

Investors are also awaiting remarks from Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui later in the day after the central bank wraps up a policy meeting at which it is widely expected to keep rates steady at 0.25 percent.

Fukui's comments on the rate outlook will be keenly watched after data showing a surprisingly big inflation slowdown in the revised consumer price index last month cast doubt on whether the BOJ would raise rates again this year.

The BOJ releases its monthly economic report at 0600 GMT and Fukui's news conference begins at 0630 GMT.

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