Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi contacted Democratic Party of Japan President Seiji Maehara via a close aide in late September to sound him out on forming a grand coalition, sources claimed Wednesday.

Maehara rejected the offer, according to the sources. He was elected DPJ chief on Sept. 17, following the Sept. 11 general election in which the main opposition party suffered a crushing defeat and Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide victory.

The revelation is likely to send ripples through the ruling and opposition parties over Koizumi's intentions, with his election victory having given him control of more than two-thirds of the House of Representatives.

Koizumi's proxy reportedly told Maehara that Koizumi, who doubles as LDP president, hoped to form a coalition with the DPJ in order to create a strong platform for promoting structural reforms and possibly revising the Constitution.

Maehara, now visiting Washington, told reporters Wednesday that he was unaware of the story, adding that the chances of forming a coalition with the LDP were virtually nil.

"There have been no changes in our aim to achieve a change of power through an election," he said.

An official of New Komeito, the LDP's junior coalition partner, said, "I have not heard anything (about the sounding out)."

He added, however, that, "People close to Prime Minister Koizumi within the LDP have such a tendency (toward favoring a coalition with the DPJ), especially on constitutional revisions."

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told a news conference Thursday, "There is no way I can comment as I am not aware of what transpired."

On the possibility of working together with the DPJ in the future on constitutional revisions and other issues, Abe said, "It is good to have endorsements from as many parties as possible on each issue."