By Yoko Nishikawa

TOKYO, JAPAN - Major countries should support the dollar as the key international currency, although emerging nations may discuss a new global reserve currency on the sidelines of the G8 summit next week, a Japanese official said on Friday.

China has asked for debate on a new global reserve currency when leaders from the Group of Eight (G8) meet with the G5 emerging economies next week in Italy, G8 sources told Reuters. News of the Chinese request pushed the dollar down to a three-week low on Wednesday.

But Japan thinks it would be difficult for another currency to replace the dollar as the world's global reserve currency and it is against any move that would unnecessarily weaken the status of the dollar, said Yoichi Suzuki, director-general of it is against any move that would unnecessarily weaken the status of the dollar, said Yoichi Suzuki, director-general of

the Japanese foreign ministry's economic affairs bureau and one of the country's main coordinators for the G8 summit.

"Japan's stance is that major countries should support the dollar," Suzuki told Reuters in an interview.

"It won't benefit any country to talk about ideas of a new global key currency, which would weaken the dollar," he added.

Japan is interested in a stable dollar for its trade with other countries and because most of its massive foreign reserves are in dollar assets.

Suzuki said he would not be surprised if the G5 discussed the role of the dollar as the key international currency w hen they meet among themselves on the sidelines of the G8 summit in l'Aquila, Italy.

But he added that Tokyo does not expect the topic to be discussed at the meeting of G8 plus G5 emerging nations, including China, Brazil and India. --REUTERS