Japan, a major destination for works of art, enacted legislation in December last year to restrict illegal imports of antiques and historic treasures to the country.

"But so far, we cannot take measures under the law, which requires an official request from the government concerned," said an official of the Agency of Cultural Affairs.

"So, all we can do is now to call on each museum in Japan not to accept any offer to acquire suspicious treasures, which may be coming from Iraq," the official said.

"We hope that a new Iraqi government will make a request as quickly as possible so that we can carry out coastal operations against smugglers," the official said.

At a news conference, education minister Atsuko Toyama said Tuesday the ministry planned to issue instructions by the end of this week to museums nationwide to turn down any dubious offers.

Mobs looted Baghdad's cultural and historic treasures, including Iraq's largest archeological museum, which housed a major collection of antiquities, including a 4,000-year-old silver harp from Ur.

Iraq, among the earliest cradles of civilization and home to the remains of such ancient Mesopotamian cities as Babylon, Ur and Nineveh, has one of the richest archaeological heritages in the world.

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