James Baker, U.S. President George W. Bush's special envoy, arrived Sunday in Tokyo to ask for Japan's cooperation in reducing Iraq's foreign debt.
The Foreign Ministry said Baker, a former secretary of state, was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday.
He will be asking for Japan's support in reducing Iraq's public foreign debt, estimated as high as $120 billion, to help with the reconstruction effort.
Japan has $7 billion in outstanding loans to Iraq, including those from the private sector. In terms of official debt, Japan's $4.1 billion is the most out of the 19 members of the Paris Club. It has been reluctant to forgive the debt partly because it has already pledged a large amount of financial aid to Iraq.
At a donors' conference in Madrid in October, Japan said it would provide Iraq with $5 billion in the four-year period from 2004 to 2008.
Baker, named by Bush early this month as his special envoy on the Iraqi debt issue, will also visit South Korea and China. He has already been to Britain, Italy, France, Germany and Russia.
France, Germany and Russia, which opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq, voiced their support for reducing Iraq's debt burden during his visits.
Given such agreement by other major countries, Japan's stance has softened from its initial reluctance that debt forgiveness would "make it difficult" for Japan to extend new yen loans, government sources have said.