Japanese Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka - the man charged with cleaning up the stricken banking sector - has said he will not bow to political pressure to scale back planned reforms.

On Tuesday, Mr Takenaka postponed the release of a plan to tackle the mountain of non-performing loans, after running into opposition from some government officials.

But Mr Takenaka said the final version of the plan would not be watered down, and claimed the full backing of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

A plan to deal with bad debt is seen as a crucial first step if Japan is to kick-start its economy, mired in recession for the past decade.

Crisis of confidence

Mr Koizumi told a cabinet meeting early on Wednesday that the government should work as a team to push through any reforms suggested by Mr Takenaka.

The minister is reportedly to meet the heads of 12 major banks later on Wednesday to discuss bad loans.

Opposition to the Takenaka plan centres around the effect on the stock market, which has plumbed a series of 19-year lows since he was put in charge of banking at the end of September.

Investors are concerned that a rescue plan would necessarily involve a huge injection of public funds, and could destroy some of the financial institutions that knit together the country's economy.

There are also question-marks over Mr Takenaka's style, which is seen as somewhat too abrupt for the sedate world of Japanese politics.

Political problems

The extent of opposition to Mr Takenaka's reform is still unclear.

Although his Tuesday plan was postponed after meeting officials from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, he denies that politics played a significant role.

Instead, the official line is that a bank-rescue plan is to be co-ordinated with a wider package of measures to stimulate the economy and cushion the impact of any financial-sector job losses.

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa, who has given his guarded support to Mr Takenaka, has said he may consider drawing up a supplementary budget if necessary.