| Japan Cabinet backs Bill to send troops to Iraq Controversial measure is likely to pass in parliament despite concerns that it violates the country's pacifist charter TOKYO - Japan's Cabinet yesterday approved a controversial Bill allowing the government to send troops to Iraq, a move sure to please Washington but which stirs worries at home that Japan is departing from its pacifist constitution. The law, aimed at giving Japan a higher profile in reconstructing the war-torn country, has already been criticised as going against a constitution that has been interpreted to mean the military is restricted to self-defence. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the dominant force in the ruling coalition, endorsed the Bill earlier yesterday after much wrangling. 'I'm glad that they showed some good sense,' Mr Koizumi told reporters after the Cabinet approval, referring to the support by the LDP. The LDP had been expected to approve the Bill on Thursday, but failed to reach a decision after many party members voiced opposition to the Bill, saying it would put the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) in danger or involve them in military action. While the troops will only be sent to areas 'free of military conflict', critics have pointed to the repeated attacks on US forces there as argument that such a goal was impossible. Coupled with the tight limit on the SDF's use of weapons, they say the move will put Japanese soldiers in danger. The Bill is likely to pass parliament in the current session, which is expected to be extended until mid-July. Its approval by the Cabinet came on the same day as the so-called crisis laws aimed at boosting Japan's ability to defend itself, which also drew heavy criticism from some quarters, came into effect. A mission to Iraq would mainly provide logistical support to the US-led forces. Critics also charge that the new law is another sign that Tokyo is merely following the US lead in dealing with Iraq. 'If we're just sending the SDF because we made a promise to the Americans, then it's diplomacy which lacks a long-term vision,' Mr Seiji Maehara, the shadow national security minister in the opposition Democratic Party, told reporters this week. The initial Bill listed the disposal of weapons of mass destruction as a potential task for the SDF in Iraq, but it was taken out in the final draft, leading to speculation that the change was out of consideration for Washington. Using a baseball analogy, US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Japan should be on the playing field, not in the stands as it was for the 1991 Gulf War when it gave US$11 billion (S$19 billion) but sent no troops. 'You can't play at all unless you're on the baseball diamond. I'm hoping that the nation will decide to get out of the stands and onto the playing field,' he said earlier this week. -- Reuters |
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