Oct 3 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian

markets.

Japanese markets, particularly the foreign exchanges, continue

to digest the rather blunt comments on monetary policy from new

prime minister Shigeru Ishiba after he met with Bank of Japan

governor Kazuo Ueda on Wednesday.

"I do not believe that we are in an environment that would

require us to raise interest rates further," Ishiba said,

sparking a huge wave of yen selling.

The yen shed almost 2% against the dollar on Wednesday, its

biggest fall since February last year. Excluding the

pandemic-related volatility of March 2020, it was one of the

steepest declines in over a decade.

Meetings between Japan's prime minister and central bank

governor are not unusual, but this one came only days after

Ishiba took office. His comments were unusually direct too -

"somewhat unseemly," according to Washington-based economist

Phil Suttle.

Analysts at JP Morgan reckon the Ishiba administration will

adopt a "market-friendly" policy stance until next summer when

the upper house election is scheduled, which should soothe

market concerns about growth.

The yen's plunge reflects how extreme market positioning has

become. U.S. futures market data show hedge funds are holding

their biggest 'long' yen position since 2016 and one of their

largest ever.

Asahi Noguchi, a dovish BOJ board member who dissented

against the central bank's rate hike in July, on Thursday

delivers a speech and holds a media conference, where he is

likely to be asked about Ishiba's comments.

Elsewhere in Asia, Thailand's finance minister Pichai

Chunhavajira and central bank chief Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput

speak at a central bank event on Thursday.

Asia's economic calendar sees the release of purchasing

managers index data from Australia and Singapore, and the latest

international trade figures from Australia.

The dollar's rally against the yen and U.S. economic data on

Wednesday helped lift the greenback to a three-week high against

a basket of currencies and register its third daily rise of

around 0.5%.

Escalating tensions between Iran and Israel continue to sustain

safe-haven demand for the dollar and the rebound in oil prices.

Brent crude rose above $76 a barrel for the first time in a

month, but only ended the day up around 1%.

Investors will also be assessing news that France, Greece, Italy

and Poland will vote on Friday in favor of hefty tariffs of up

to 45% on imports of electric vehicles made in China. That could

push through the European Union's highest profile trade

measures, risking potential retaliation from Beijing.

How will Germany vote? Finance Minister Christian Lindner

said the country must oppose the EU proposal, adding: "A trade

war with China would do us more harm than good for a key

European industry and a crucial sector in Germany."

Here are key developments that could provide more direction

to Asian markets on Thursday:

- Australia trade (August)

- Japan, Australia, Singapore PMIs (September)

- Hong Kong retail sales (August)