The minister hopes to leave Japan on Wednesday and return home on April 14 although her schedule is yet to be finalised.

Kawaguchi said she would explain Japan's basic stance on the postwar reconstruction of Iraq during the six-day trip.

The five-point policy includes support for Iraq's territorial integrity and full involvement of the United Nations, she said.

The mass-circulation Yomiuri newspaper said this week Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi planned to visit Britain and France in late April.

Koizumi aims to hold talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac to discuss how to help with the postwar reconstruction of Iraq, the newspaper said.

He also hopes to exchange views on how to restore confidence in the UN Security Council after the US-British alliance was opposed by other permanent members France and Russia, as well as Germany on how to deal with the Iraq crisis, it said.

On Thursday, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage warmly praised Koizumi, after he defied public opinion and offered strong support for the US war in the Gulf.

SPACE.WIRE