By Tamawa Desai

LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The dollar neared a 15-year lowversus the yen on Thursday as traders bet Japanese authoritieswere not yet ready to intervene in the currency market, whilethe euro was pressured by banking sector concerns.

Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said on Thursdaythe ministry was conducting simulations on forex intervention,but the yen hardly budged as the perception remains that Japanis unlikely to intervene until the dollar falls near 80 yen.

His comments were also undermined as Bank of Japan GovernorMasaaki Shirakawa said he did not talk about currencies andmonetary policy at a government meeting.

By 0735 GMT, the dollar slipped 0.2 percent on the day to83.69 yen, closing in on a 15-year low of 83.34 yen struck ontrading platform EBS on Wednesday.

"The market feels like it wants to test the resolve ofJapan's MoF, but at the same time is inclined to take outinsurance through the options market just in case the MoF doesin fact take the bait," Daragh Maher, deputy head of FX strategyat Credit Agricole CIB, said in a note.

Options traders say shorter-dated yen puts are in demand.The one-week dollar/yen risk-reversal, the premium required tohold a put or a call, trades marginally in favour of yen puts,traders say.

Wariness about intervention lifted the dollar briefly inearly trade but it failed to sustain a rise above 84 yen, itsfive-day moving average.

Many traders think it is only a matter of time before thedollar falls below that level, with talk of options barriers at83.00 yen and then 82.50 yen.

The euro eased below $1.2700 as investors focused oncomments late on Wednesday from European Central Bank ExecutiveBoard member Juergen Stark, who told a meeting of Germanlawmakers that German banks were undercapitalised, according toa participant.

"Confidence is evaporating in the euro zone banking system,particularly for Portugal, Ireland and Greece, and supportingthe system will require government debt to rise to unsustainablelevels. That is what the market is concerned about," said LeeHardman, currency economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

Bids were seen at $1.2680 and $1.2630, while options with astrike price of $1.2600 were set to expire later in the day,traders said.

AUSSIE GAINS

The Australian dollar jumped to a four-month high of $0.9237 after strong jobs data, breaking above $0.92 resistance.

The Aussie also hit a record high against the euro beyondA$1.3800 per euro but it made little progress against the yen asyen bulls used the cross instead of dollar/yen to bet on furthergains in the Japanese currency.

The Canadian dollar kept Wednesday's hefty gains at C$1.0380per dollar after the central bank raised its benchmark interestrate.

"The direction of monetary policy is completely the oppositebetween the United States and countries like Australia andCanada. So currencies like the Aussie and the Canadian dollarwill tend to be favoured," said Koichi Yoshikawa, head of FXtrading at BNP Paribas.

The Bank of England will deliver its policy verdict later inthe day. It is expected to keep rates at 0.5 percent and refrainfrom increasing its asset buying programme. The pound traded at$1.5423, off a 1-1/2 month low of $1.5296 on Tuesday.

(Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo)