Finance minister Kiichi Miyazawa said that Sakakibara, former vice finance minister for international affairs, would be a "good candidate" for the next head of the Washington-based international lending organisation.

"Although it seems the Europeans have begun searching for candidates for the next managing director of the IMF, it's not unnatural for an Asian to take that position," Miyazawa said at a regular news conference. The IMF's current managing director, Michel Camdessus, announced earlier this month that he would step down in February.

Sakakibara, who earned the nickname for the power he wielded over Japan's currency, resigned in July and now teaches international economics at a private university in Japan.