Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday won a desperately needed endorsement from U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan for Japan's engagement in postwar aid missions in Iraq.
Annan, in Tokyo for a five-day visit, held a one-hour meeting with Koizumi at the Prime Minister's Office.
An official said Annan praised Japan's role in postwar reconstruction efforts, saying Japan is doing "the right work."