Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka has suggested that special interest groups supporting U.S. President George W. Bush may be behind U.S. missile defense plans, Japanese government sources said Saturday.

The plans "may be influenced by support groups (for Bush) such as the petroleum industry in his constituency of Texas," Tanaka was quoted as saying during her talks with her Australian counterpart, Alexander Downer, on Monday.

Tanaka has allegedly made a series of remarks criticizing the U.S. plan despite the official position stated by her to a parliamentary panel that Tokyo "understands" the U.S. position.