Bernanke, who served on the Fed Board for three years, was tapped by US President George W. Bush on Monday to succeed current Chairman Alan Greenspan when he retires on January 31 after 18 years at the helm of the central bank.
After an initial dip during US trade on the news, the dollar soon found its footing and later prompted some traders in Tokyo to cover short dollar positions.
Some traders said the possibility that Bernanke would keep policy intact was a view already shared by many investors and dealers and that the nomination would have little impact on the market.
Bernanke is known for his desire to achieve central bank transparency. It was during his years at the Fed that the central bank began to offer a clearer view about where interest rates were heading.
He is a vocal supporter of inflation targeting to guide interest rate policy. Greenspan opposes this mechanism and has argued that it diminishes the flexibility of the Fed.
The dollar bought around 115.45 yen, unchanged from late New York trade on Monday, when it fell as far as around 115.05 yen.
Some market participants said that dealers were trading dollars cautiously in quiet trading.
Some traders said that dollar short covering could finally push it above 116 yen in the near term after the market has struggled to take out suspected options at that level in the past week.
Others said the currency could slip against the yen as the market may close more long dollar positions before the end of the month.
The yen had received a boost on Monday after an adviser to China's central bank said that yuan appreciation was inevitable and that he expected more changes in Beijing's currency policy.