UPDATE 1-Japan unlikely to intervene in FX market - reports

(Updates with Fujii comments, adds details, prices, changes dateline; previous LONDON)

NEW YORK, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Japan will refrain from intervening in the currency market to slow the yen's rise against the dollar, Japan's finance chief and a former top official from the ministry said in separate press reports.

Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii, in a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, said on Thursday evening he was against "intentionally" weakening any currency, Kyodo News reported.

"There are some countries tending to adopt policies to lower their own currencies," but "in principle" Japan will not do so or intervene in the currency market, he said. Fujii said foreign exchange rates must be dictated by the market.

Meanwhile, Dow Jones Newswires early on Friday quoted Eisuke Sakakibara, vice finance minister for international affairs in 1997-1999, as echoing Fujii's statement. He said the finance ministry wouldn't be concerned by a dollar move below 90 yen, Dow Jones reported.

But he said Japan might consider action if it fell below 85 yen. Sakakibara gained the nickname "Mr. Yen" for spearheading intervention in the currency markets in the 1990s.

In the past, Japan has intervened to weaken the yen as this helps keep its competitive advantage in global trade.

On Friday, the dollar dropped to 89.52 yen JPY=, its lowest since mid-February, according to Reuters data. It was last at 89.83 yen, down 1.6 percent on the day.

Sakakibara said a move below 80 yen might be viewed as "abnormal".

Some traders believed Japan won't intervene until dollar/yen drops below 78 yen. The record low back in 1995 was 79.70 yen, according to Reuters data.

"I think you need to see a push below that to justify a disorderly type move that deviates from fundamentals," said Matt Kassel, director of foreign exchange at ING Capital Markets in New York. (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York and Jamie McGeever in London; Editing by James Dalgleish)