Japan needs to play a more prominent role in helping its Asian neighbors out of their current financial crisis, the head of the German universal bank Commerzbank said Thursday in Tokyo.

Martin Kohlhaussen, chairman of the bank's board, said that while he understands Japan needs to fix its own economy, this "cannot be an excuse" to remain outside the restructuring efforts of other Asian nations. "A spillover (into other countries) must be avoided," Kohlhaussen warned. "If not, the repercussions for the global community will be much greater" and will go beyond the financial world.

Despite Asia's crisis and problems in Japan's financial system, it is still "very worthwhile" to be active in Japan, he said. Commerzbank received an assets-management license from the Finance Ministry last year to enter the mutual funds market in Japan. Senior bank officials say they hope this will help Commerzbank expand into the retail market for individual customers. Commerzbank's expertise and development of financial products have brought success in other countries and there is no reason the same cannot be achieved in Japan, the officials said.