Japan's economic policies, which have driven down the yen's value and given local exporters a powerful boost, are expected to be in the firing line at a meeting of G-20 finance ministers. But perhaps it's time to cut Japan a little bit of slack, some analysts say.
Policymakers from Asia and Europe have stepped up criticism of Japan, where expectations for aggressive monetary easing have pushed the yen down 15 percent against the dollar over the past three months. The yen has shed 20 percent of its value against the euro and fallen 13 percent versus South Korea's won over the same time period.
While the yen has fallen sharply and quickly, its weakness should be seen in the context of a period of prolonged strength, said Vasu Menon, vice president for wealth management at OCBC Bank.
"The yen is weakening from a position of extreme strength," he told CNBC Asia's "Squawk Box." "So, I think the G-20 will cut Japan some slack."
The G-20, a forum of developed and emerging market nations for the most important global economic and financial issues, kicks off a meeting in Moscow on Friday.
"Japan is still the world's third largest economy – this is a point that the media and the markets are not talking enough about," Menon said. "Japan has been in the doldrums for the past two decades… If it's able to revive itself that's in everyone's interest.
Data released on Thursday showed Japan's economy remained in recession in the final three months of last year.
(Read More: Why You Should Look Past Japan's GDP Miss)
The yen may have fallen sharply in recent months, but it's a different story when viewed in the context of recent years. In the past five years, the yen is about 13 percent stronger against the greenback. Compare that with other major currencies: the euro has depreciated about 16 percent against the dollar over the past five years while sterling is down about 20 percent.
"In Japan's defense, what they (policymakers) are trying to do is fight deflation and revive economic growth, so if they do this by increasing their balance sheet (via monetary stimulus) a by-product of that will be a weaker yen," said Jonathan Cavenagh, senior FX strategist at Westpac Bank in Sydney, adding that the G-20 would probably shy away from making any accusations about "currency manipulation."
"Obviously, there will be some accusations thrown from the sidelines of the meeting," he said.