TOKYO - Many companies in western Japan saw excessive yen declines as undesirable, Kazushige Kamiyama, the Bank of Japan's Osaka branch manager, said on Monday.

"Quite a large number of firms seem to share the view it was problematic for the yen to decline too much," he told a news conference after attending the BOJ's quarterly meeting of regional branch managers.

"The views varied, however, on whether the yen should rise further. What the firms all agreed was that exchange-rate swings should be moderate," said Kamiyama, who oversees the region that is home to big manufacturers sensitive to currency market moves.

Kamiyama also said many firms in the region are setting business plans on the assumption the slowdown in exports to China will continue.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Tom Hogue and Muralikumar Anantharaman)