Finance minister Jun Azumi said eurozone countries needed to come up with a rational plan to ease global concerns, adding Japan would potentially play its part if needed.

He told Reuters: “If there is a scheme that is based on a firm process, involves a reasonable amount of money and could provide the world and markets with a sense of security regarding a Greek bailout, I would not rule out the possibility of Japan sharing some of the burden.”

The BBC said the finance ministry later confirmed the comments.

Japan is also continuing to recover and rebuild following the devastating earthquake that struck earlier this year.