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Concerned by NKorea, Japan calls for stronger US alliance
Tokyo, Aug 1, 2006 In an annual white paper meant to provide guidelines to policymakers, the Defense Agency also called for the officially pacifist nation to take a more active role overseas, including in UN peacekeeping operations. Japan in May approved the most sweeping shift of US troops since they were stationed here following World War II, in a bid to deal with 21st-century threats. But the plan has been controversial, particularly in the southern island chain of Okinawa which hosts more than half the US forces in Japan. Tokyo says 8,000 US troops will leave Okinawa under the plan, but local leaders had pushed for more. "The quick and complete implementation of the plans for realignment of US troops in Japan... is inevitable for the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region," Defense Agency Chief Fukushiro Nukaga said in a preface to the white paper. "We will realize the plans whatever the cost," he said. The white paper for the first time created a separate chapter on the Japan-US alliance and doubled the number of pages on it. Nukaga said the Defense Agency "will keep taking all possible measures" to prepare against communist North Korea, which on July 5 test-fired seven missiles in Japan's direction. "North Korea's ballistic missile launches despite prior warnings by other countries including Japan are of grave concern to our country's security and to the peace and stability of the international community," he said. The white paper also indirectly criticized China, renewing Japan's charge that the rapidly growing country "lacks transparency" on its military budget. The North Korean missile tests led top Japanese officials to call for debate on a hypothetical pre-emptive strike on the communist state. The comments triggered outrage in neighboring countries which remain haunted by Japan's aggression in the early 20th century and uneasy about Japan's moves to take a greater military role. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi favors turning the Defense Agency into a full-fledged Defense Ministry and revising the 1947 US-imposed constitution, which bans Japan from using force or even having troops. The white paper said that the Japanese military -- euphemistically called the "Self-Defense Forces" -- should focus more on international peacekeeping. "The role of self-defense is not limited to taking measures against serious attacks to our country but is expanding to measures against terrorism and other various emergency circumstances, peacekeeping operations under the United Nations, reconstruction assistance and disaster relief activities, among others," the paper said. Japan last week officially wound up a reconstruction mission to Iraq, its first deployment since World War II to a country where fighting is underway. It also sent 1,000 troops -- its biggest deployment since World War II -- to Indonesia and Thailand for relief after the December 2004 tsunami. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Nuclear Space Technology at Space-Travel.com
British 'friendly fire' death in Iraq could have been prevented: report
London (AFP) Jul 31, 2006 The killing of a British tank commander by "friendly fire" in Iraq could have been prevented, according to an official report into his death published Monday. |
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