Saturday, January 1 2005 21:19 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Tokyo: Japan today (Jan 1, 2005) promised $ 500 million to countries devastated by tsunamis, by far out-pledging all other countries, which are racing to help victims of one of the world's worst disasters.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Asia's largest economy was ready to offer more assistance both in money and expertise to help countries reconstruct from the catastrophe in which nearly 126,000 people have died.

"Japan will provide assistance to the maximum extent possible in three ways: financial resources, knowledge and expertise, and human resources," Koizumi said in a statement.

"For the time being, Japan will extend to affected countries and international organizations concerned up to $ 500 million of grant money as emergency assistance to cope with the damage," Koizumi said in a statement.

Koizumi also said he would participate in a meeting of world leaders on January 6 in the Indonesian capital Jakarta to discuss aid for the countries, it said.

The world's major countries have been rushing to provide assistance in recent days, particularly after UN disaster relief coordinator Jan Egeland tomorrow accused rich nations of being "stingy," comments on which the Norwegian later backtracked.

The United States yesterday (Dec 31, 2004) increased its aid nearly ten-fold to $ 350 million after President George W Bush was accused of being slow to respond to the massive human disaster.

China, which is seen as increasingly challenging Japan for influence in Asia, promised $ 60.5 million, a major sum for a developing nation.