TOKYO, April 11 (Reuters) - Japanese authorities are facing renewed pressure to combat a sustained depreciation in the yen as investors bet on higher-for-longer U.S. interest rates while the Bank of Japan remains wedded to its zero interest rate policy.

A weak yen gives exports a boost but hurts households and retailers by inflating already rising import costs for fuel and food. Here are possible steps the government and the central bank could take to address rapid yen declines:

ESCALATE VERBAL INTERVENTION - HIGHLY LIKELY

Authorities have recently warned that they were watching currency moves with a "strong sense of urgency and "won't rule out any options" in addressing volatile yen moves.

If the pace of yen declines accelerates, authorities may escalate their warnings to pledge "decisive action" against speculative moves.

Such remarks, aired prior to Japan's previous yen-buying intervention in 2022, would signal that Tokyo was edging closer to directly intervening in the currency market.

Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki used the language when the yen's falls accelerated on March 27, but has held off on doing so since then.

BOJ OFFERS HAWKISH SIGNAL - LIKELY

The yen has been on the downtrend since the BOJ's historical decision to end eight years of negative interest rates, as traders focused more on its dovish guidance as a sign borrowing costs in Japan will stay low for a prolonged period.

Many BOJ policymakers prefer to hold off on raising rates until there is more evidence wages will keep rising, and give households purchasing power to weather higher prices.

But the BOJ may start to drop hawkish signals, such as through public remarks by Governor Kazuo Ueda, suggesting that rate hikes could come sooner than markets expect.

Already, Ueda hinted at the chance of a near-term rate hike in a recent newspaper interview. He has also told parliament the BOJ must consider reducing the degree of monetary stimulus if inflation and wages keep rising.

CONDUCT YEN-BUYING INTERVENTION - LESS LIKELY

Japan made rare forays into the currency market to prop up the yen in September and October in 2022 as it plunged and eventually hit a then 32-year low of 151.94 to the dollar.

While the yen has already exceeded the 152 level seen by markets as Tokyo's line-in-the-sand, authorities will focus on the speed of yen moves - rather than actual levels - in deciding when to step in.

That means the chance of intervention will rise if the yen's falls are rapid and viewed as driven by speculative trading.

But yen-buying intervention would be costly. Tokyo would need consent from its G7 counterparts, particularly the United States, to ensure the scale of intervention is sufficient to turn the tide.

BOJ RAISES INTEREST RATES - HIGHLY UNLIKELY

The BOJ is likely to raise its inflation forecast in revised quarterly forecasts, due out after its two-day policy meeting ending on April 26. But the chance of an imminent rate hike is slim given uncertainty on whether wage gains will spread to smaller firms.

BOJ policymakers also want to avoid being seen as using monetary policy as a tool to curb yen declines, which could be interpreted as currency manipulation and go beyond its remit.

Governor Ueda has said the BOJ "absolutely won't change monetary policy" directly to respond to currency moves.

But volatile yen moves and political pressure to address them have frequently influenced BOJ policy. Last year, the BOJ tweaked its bond yield control policy partly to avoid its tight grip on long-term rates from causing sharp yen falls.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Sam Holmes)