WASHINGTON (Kyodo) Japan expressed hope Saturday that the International Monetary Fund will play a more active role in monitoring the movements of sovereign wealth funds because such an involvement of the international body would help minimize "protectionism" in countries receiving their investment.

"We recognize the higher presence" of SWFs, or state-backed investment entities, in the global financial market, Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga said in a statement released at a meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the policy-guiding panel of the IMF.

"I support the IMF's action to make full use of its experience in monitoring movements in international capital flows, and formulate best practices in the areas of governance, institutional arrangements and transparency," Nukaga said.