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Japan emerge as the biggest loser from reforms agreed at the World Bank on Sunday that gave emerging nations a bigger say in managing global aid.

Japan agreed to slash its voting rights by around a tenth as its Asian rival China was given substantially more clout at the Washington-based bank.

Amid reforms that also cut Europe's weight, Japan agreed to the biggest decline in voting rights, its first since becoming a bank member in 1952, deputy finance minister Rintaro Tamaki said.

Tokyo accepted the reduction "to contribute to realizing a shift of the voting share to the developing and transition countries," he said in a statement.

China saw a 60 per cent increase in its voting weight -- which is used in decision on how the bank is run and how its funds are disbursed.

Since July 2008, the bank has spent around 100 billion dollars to help countries suffering under the worst economic crisis in a generation.

World Bank president Robert Zoellick said the shift did not detract from Japan's important contributions to the bank.

"The first thing I would say is that Japan is number two and the US remains number one," he told journalists.

China, with 4.4 per cent of the bank's votes remains behind Japan's 6.8 per cent and far behind the US quota of nearly 16 per cent.

Zoellick said the changes were made "to try to recognize the changes in the world economy."

A similar shift in power is planned for the World Bank's sister organization, the International Monetary Fund.

The head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, on Sunday said he hoped reforms would be agreed by the end of the year.

AFP