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Tokyo's Afghan mission destined to remain elusive

Monzurul Huq
IT was Japan's prime minister of the time, Junichiro Koizumi, who in 2004 took a bold but much criticised initiative of sending Japanese troops to a mission that had not been authorised by the United Nations. Japan's Iraq mission, though symbolic in nature as the troops had to be provided protection by peacekeepers from other nations stationed in Iraq, helped tone down the criticism that the United States had been waging since the first Gulf war, which Tokyo did not take part in. Japan had to compensate for that failure, and a $13 billion check was the price the country had to pay. But the hefty compensation did not make Japan immune to criticism, and since then Tokyo has been reminded periodically about her reluctance to be an active player in global politics.
When the US army invaded Iraq and brought into power a puppet regime that needed all -out protection, a renewed call was made to Japan to make an active contribution to the "holy" mission of spreading democracy through the power of the gun. Koizumi obviously didn’t want to risk the reputation of a country that has been for decades holding the second position in global economy and spending a significant amount to build a modern army capable of competing with any other nation. So, temptation was running high among Japanese leadership to use the opportunity to show some of her newly gained
military capabilities to others. It was then that the. then prime minister made special arrangements through Diet bills, which eventually helped the government to overturn the constitutional provisions that prohibit the country from sending troops abroad to any mission beyond the jurisdiction of the world body.
Japanese soldiers stayed in the southern Iraqi city of Samawa for almost two years, helping in restoring essential services like electricity and water supply and playing football with local kids under the watchful eyes of Dutch and Australian troops who provided them protection from any possible insurgent attack. This symbolic participation helped the US president to proclaim that the Iraq mission had been a true international venture, not just a narrow US invasion to grab the oil resources of the country.
Though Japan's Iraq mission ended in 2006, it is still providing essential logistic support, like supplying free fuel to naval vessels involved in anti-terror activities in Afghanistan. But the allies are not satisfied with this noble Japanese gesture at a time when the price of oil has reached a new all-time
high. They want a more meaningful contribution from Tokyo, though it's not clear yet if that "meaningful' contribution would be in addition to the fuel supply mission or a mere replacement of that.
Japan has received requests from the US as well as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) to commit troops on the ground in Afghanistan. Nato's Afghan mission is not going well as casualties are on the rise, and the people of Afghanistan are increasingly becoming hostile because of the loss of life and property.
As for Japan, it has always been difficult to reject any request coming from its most important strategic partners. In the case of Afghanistan, the important strategic partner has been joined by other important nations to make the call, which has pushed the Japanese government to an extremely difficult position. The US and Nato are asking Japan to contribute transport helicopters and military personnel as part of logistic support for the International Security Assistance Force (1SAF).
The Japanese government responded to the call initially by giving its consent to study the possibility of providing the requested support. In line with that official position, the foreign and defense ministries sent a joint fact finding mission to Afghanistan and neighbouring Tajikistan to review the situation on the ground for a possible dispatch of Chinook transport helicopters and C130 Hercules transport planes. But as suicide bombings and terrorist attacks in Afghanistan intensified in recent months, concerns were raised about the safety of Japanese troops in case of a possible dispatch. Defense ministry officials were particularly opposed to the
US request for Chinook helicopters as they are concerned that they would be vulnerable to surface-to-air missile attacks.
But it was not the reluctance of the Japanese defense ministry that was the obstacle to overcome. A strong opposition within the government about the planned Afghan dispatch continued to gain momentum, and the junior partner of the ruling coalition, the Komei Party, at one stage made it clear that it would oppose any move to send Japanese troops to Afghanistan. As a result, the government of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is now almost certain to drop the plan to assist the US-led forces on the ground.
It should be noted that the Komei Party holds the key to the approval of any bill in the Diet if it gets rejected in the upper house controlled by the opposition. The two-third majority that the ruling block enjoys at the lower house to counter any opposition move to block a bill is because of the sup-port of the Komei party. Its opposition to the planned Afghan dispatch means that it will be impossible to pass any bill paving the way for sending troops to Afghanistan. The Fukuda administration has, thus, been left with no other choice but to rethink the Afghan strategy.
The move will no doubt bring increased criticism from Japan's allies. But there are times when national interest has to take priority over those of the strategic partners'. To compensate for the setback, Japan is now considering the possibility of increasing support for humanitarian assistance being provided to Afghanistan through various official channels as well as through the participation of nongovernmental bodies.
Monzurul Huq writes from Tokyo
***The two-third majority that the ruling block enjoys at the lower house to counter any opposition move to block a bill is because of the support of the Komei party. Its opposition to the planned Afghan dispatch means that it will be impossible to pass any bill paving the way for sending troops to Afghanistan.***