Junichiro Koizumi

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi says he hopes to name a new foreign minister before Saturday's bilateral meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

Mr. Koizumi took over as his own foreign minister after he fired Makiko Tanaka late Tuesday. Ms. Tanaka was the first woman to hold the post in Japan.

Makiko Tanaka

Mr. Koizumi told reporters Wednesday he wants someone with "excellent insight" to be his foreign minister.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda says the government is considering a wide variety of candidates, including non-politicians.

Former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata, also a woman, is reportedly one of the leading candidates for the Foreign minister's post. Ms. Ogata is currently Japan's special envoy for Afghan affairs.

Meanwhile, the United States has praised Ms. Tanka for strengthening U.S.-Japanese relations. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington looks forward to working with her successor.

The outspoken Ms. Tanaka, who took office in April, is one of Japan's most popular politicians. But she has been increasingly involved in a bitter struggle with ruling party rivals and bureaucrats within the government and her own ministry.

Recently, Ms. Tanaka accused a ruling party lawmaker of applying pressure to bar two non-governmental organizations from last week's Afghan reconstruction conference in Tokyo. The lawmaker has denied her accusation.

Since Ms. Tanaka's dismissal, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is said to have received hundreds of phone calls from voters who said they wanted to see her back in office.

Some information for this report provided by AFP.

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