The chairman of Iraq's Governing Council will come to Tokyo on Tuesday for security and reconstruction talks, Japanese government sources said Friday.
Seyyid Muhammed Bahr ul-Uloom, a respected Shiite cleric, is making the trip at the council's request instead of an invitation by the Japanese government, the sources said. He is expected to meet with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
The council wants to address growing criticism within Iraq of its reliance on the United States by cooperating with other major aid-offering nations, analysts said.