Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi on Friday urged the United Nations to play an active role in Iraq's reconstruction process, in the wake of the assassination of two Japanese diplomats in the country last weekend.

"The U.N. should express its strong resolve to play an active role on the issue of Iraq," Kawaguchi said in a telephone conversation with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

While Tokyo has thus far sided with Washington in terms of how to manage the rebuilding of Iraq, Kawaguchi's remark indicates that the diplomats' slayings have made Japan more aware that U.N. involvement is crucial to the country's stability.

Anti-U.S. sentiment remains strong in Iraq, while attacks thought to be carried out by terrorists and elements loyal to ousted President Saddam Hussein continue to target the U.S. and its allies.

Annan noted that he is expected to wrap up a report next week on the U.N.'s role in Iraq, according to the minister.

If the U.N., which withdrew its staff from Baghdad after the August attack on its local headquarters, returns to Iraq, it would help water down the image that U.S. occupation forces are running the country.

Not only is a stable Iraq an important factor in ensuring the safety of Japanese diplomats there, it is also pivotal in winning public support for the anticipated dispatch of Self-Defense Forces troops to assist in reconstruction work.

The government claims it plans to send troops only to "noncombat areas" to avoid violating the war-renouncing Constitution. But in the wake of the diplomat ambush, skepticism is mounting within both the ruling and opposition camps on whether such areas exist in Iraq.

Kawaguchi also told Annan that the U.N. Security Council should issue a message condemning terrorism. Annan replied that the Security Council may consider such an idea if Japan calls on member states to do so, Kawaguchi told reporters.