The Group of Seven industrial nations agreed on Friday to jointly intervene in the currency market to stem a sharp yen rise that complicates Japan's battle with the devastation caused by last week's violent earthquake and an unfolding nuclear crisis.

Given yen moves after the tragic events that hit Japan, the United States, Britain, Canada and the European Central Bank have agreed with Japan to jointly intervene in the currency market, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters.

Japanese authorities will buy dollar/yen in the market from 9 a.m. (12:00 a.m. GMT). Other central banks will act when their markets open, Noda said. He declined to comment on the size of Tokyo's intervention.

When Japan is in such a state, it's extremely meaningful for G7 countries to cooperate and take coordinated action to stabilize financial markets, he said.

The dollar spiked about 2 yen to above 81 yen on Friday, after the news, moving away from a record low against the Japanese currency hit earlier this week.

Tokyo last intervened in the currency market on its own on September 15, 2010, when it sold 2.13 trillion yen, a record amount for a single day.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto, Leika Kihara; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

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