Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Japan will benefit from a strong yen because it will hold down prices for raw materials, said Eisuke Sakakibara, formerly Japan's top currency official.

``I still believe a strong yen is in the national interest of Japan, particularly in this situation when raw material prices will increase,'' Sakakibara said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Singapore yesterday. The yen may rise to as high as 80 per dollar as so-called carry trades unwind, said Sakakibara, who was dubbed ``Mr. Yen'' during his 1997-1999 tenure at the Finance Ministry because of his influence over currency markets.

The yen's 15 percent gain against the dollar this year and 33 percent advance versus the euro prompted Japan's government to announce last month it may buy or sell currencies to influence exchange rates, as the world's second-largest economy stumbled. Gross domestic product shrank by an annualized 3 percent in the second quarter as exports dropped 2.5 percent, according to government data.