Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on Wednesday reminded the next head of the International Monetary Fund of the need to give Asian countries more voting power at the IMF.

The reminder was addressed to Horst Koehler, head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, during the German's meeting with Miyazawa in Tokyo.

But in a news conference after the meeting, Miyazawa declined to reveal Koehler's response because his appointment as IMF managing director is not yet official.

When the United States expressed support earlier this month for Koehler, Europe's second candidate for the IMF's top position, Japan followed suit and withdrew its nomination of Eisuke Sakakibara, former vice finance minister for international affairs.

In a telephone conversation Wednesday with German Finance Minister Hans Eichel, Miyazawa said he told Eichel that Asia's voting share at the IMF remains unreasonably low.

Haruhiko Kuroda, Sakakibara's successor, pointed out the same problem Monday during a speech in Hong Kong before finance officials from Asia. "Despite the fact that many Asian countries have emerged as important economic powers, the voting share and (the IMF board's) representation of Asian countries have been extremely limited," Kuroda said. "We believe that the member countries of the IMF urgently need to consider the redistribution of quotas," he said.

Yen still under watch

Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa reiterated his misgivings Wednesday about the detrimental impact a stronger yen would have on Japan's budding economic recovery.

"We need a bit more time before the yen heads higher," Miyazawa told a news conference when asked if the recovery is strong enough to resist a further strengthening of the yen against the dollar.

Mindful of the negative effects that a high yen would have on the economy, Japanese monetary authorities have intervened in the currency market three times this year and have said they will act whenever necessary.

At 5 p.m. in Tokyo on Wednesday, the yen was changing hands at 106.63-66 yen to the dollar, up from 106.75-85 yen at 5 p.m. in New York on Tuesday, after hovering narrowly between 106.52 and 106.90 yen. Most transactions took place at 106.75 yen.