Mr Komura became ill while holding a dinner meeting on Friday with visiting Slovakian Foreign Minister Jan Kubis, Kyodo News agency quoted an unidentified government official as saying.

'We are hearing he is showing symptoms of anaemia, but it does not appear to be serious,' Kyodo quoted the official as saying.

Mr Komura underwent surgery last year after he was hospitalised for acute inflammation of the gallbladder, Kyodo said.

Phones rang unanswered at the Foreign Ministry on Saturday morning. -- AP