TOKYO (Reuters – Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe stated Monday that raising interest rates by the Bank of Japan would not be in the best interests of the yen.

Abe said at a meeting with lawmakers from the ruling party, “There is no need to worry” about current levels of the yen.

Abe is still a strong force in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), as an advocate for big fiscal spending, and aggressive monetary ease by the Bank of Japan.

One of the main goals of Abenomics’ stimulus policies, implemented 10 years ago, was to reverse an yen rise that has hurt Japan’s export-reliant economy.