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Troops hope the yen is mightier than the
sword
By J Sean Curtin
TOKYO
- Japanese non-combat troops deployed in Iraq will be
armored with yen, so to speak, hoping that wielding
largesse will protect them from attacks by those who
want to derail US-led reconstruction efforts. While
United States troops flex their military muscle, Japan
flexes its yen. And if Tokyo's financial self-defense
strategy fails, the orders call for prompt retreat.
On Monday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
ordered the dispatch of the main contingent of Ground
Self-Defense Forces (GSDF) to war-racked Iraq, just one
week after an advance party of 30 soldiers arrived in
the relatively peaceful southern Iraqi city of Samawah.
Japanese troops - deployed strictly on a humanitarian
mission - hope that spreading largesse in the form of
grants, projects and jobs will make them welcome. But it
could make them targets.
On Saturday, an Iraqi
policeman was shot dead in the town, five men were
arrested on the day the advance team arrived, and there
were unconfirmed reports that insurgents were planning
to strike at the Japanese, as at other countries in the
US-led coalition.
The size of the main
contingent has been estimated at 500-1,000 troops, and
it was not immediately known when the new troops would
arrive.
After six decades in the shadows, the
Japanese army is once again back on the battlefield.
However, Japan's re-emergence as a global military
player reveals that during its nearly 60-year absence
from the world's battles and conflict zones, the
country's military took a divergent evolutionary path
from most of its international counterparts.
While the US opts to deter would-be attackers by
displaying its formidable military power, Japan instead
is choosing to disburse monetary promises - as well as
real cash and real, desperately needed projects that
also mean jobs. A fundamental component of Koizumi's
Iraq deployment strategy is based on the hope that the
yen is mightier than the sword.
Japan is split
over the issue of troop deployment. Opposition parties
are baying for Koizumi's blood, demanding that he resign
for violating the country's pacifist constitution. On
Sunday, thousands of protesters rallied in Tokyo against
sending troops to Iraq. By Japanese standards, this was
a very large demonstration and it illustrates the depth
of feeling the issue has generated. The prime minister
cannot afford casualties in Iraq. To minimize the risk
to military personnel, Koizumi is pursuing in essence a
two-pronged approach.
Will spreading the
wealth protect the troops?
First, massive amounts
of money are being pledged to Iraqi reconstruction
projects, especially those in undeveloped Samawah where
Japanese ground troops will be based. Japan hopes that
spreading the wealth around will make local people feel
protective toward the Japanese and fear the loss of the
substantial economic benefits they would forfeit if
Japanese troops were forced to withdrawn because of
causalities. The aim is to turn the troops from
potential terror targets into protected treasure troves.
Japan is taking over from the Dutch army that
has been stationed in Samawah for the past eight months.
The Dutch soldiers have largely restricted their
activities to patrolling the city, disappointing many
locals who were hoping for more financial assistance.
The Japanese reputation for generosity has already
excited the city's inhabitants.
About 100 local
businessmen and professionals have formed the
Association of Japanese Friendship, which is trying to
make the troops feel welcome. Around the city, it has
put up banners in Japanese and Arabic greeting the
soldiers. Its beaming, yellow-suited chairman, Anmar
Khudir, has also appeared on Japan's NHK TV to explain
how people feel. "We care about the Japanese," he said.
"So we wanted you to know you are welcome."
An
examination of recent Japanese financial pledges
illustrates why the poor citizens of Samawah are so
happy about the troop deployment:
For 2004,
Japan has already said it will provide about US$1.5
billion in grants to Iraq as part of the international
reconstruction effort. On January 16, the day it sent an
advanced party of 30 troops to the region, the Japanese
Foreign Ministry announced 4 billion yen (US$37.6
million) in specific spending projects. About 3.1
billion yen of this is intended to purchase 620 police
cars for cities throughout Iraq, 20 of them allocated
for Samawah. A further 935 million yen ($8.8 million)
will be disbursed for the reconstruction of 271 schools
in Samawah, Baghdad and the northern, oil-rich city of
Kirkuk. Some of this money will also be used in other
cities for the reconstruction of homes and key water and
electricity facilities.
Since the Japanese
advanced team arrived, more money has been allocated,
and Samawah has been especially favored. The latest
plans include about 26 billion yen in grants for the
renovation and rebuilding of 13 Iraqi hospitals, one of
which is in Samawah. The Samawah hospital will be given
a very high priority, receiving an initial grant of 1
billion yen. Eighty million yen also has been allocated
for public relations activities in order to promote the
work of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces among local
people.
For more than a week, Samawah citizens
have been regularly appearing on Japanese TV, requesting
various forms of assistance. They are hoping the
Japanese soldiers will help repair war-damaged schools,
restore the water and electricity supplies, provide
employment, increase public safety and boost the local
economy.
Iraqis on Japanese TV plead for
assistance
"We want jobs. We want electricity,"
one man told the news cameras. A local goldsmith was
quoted as saying, "The Japanese are going to improve the
town 100 percent. We will have clean water to drink,
electricity, maybe even less crime."
Samawah
citizens have so many requests and such high
expectations about what the troops are going to do that
the Japanese government is already beginning to worry
that the troop contingent - and what it actually is able
to do - might disappoint local people. The Japanese
Foreign Ministry and the Defense Agency are coordinating
their efforts in an effort to satisfy expectations and
ensure the troops are safe.
Koizumi has also
been attempting to find new ways to inject extra cash
into Samawah. Last Friday, he told parliament that apart
from the Iraq funds already allocated, he was
considering using official development assistance (ODA)
to help create jobs in Samawah and other cities.
"We are considering using ODA to give support
for improving the daily lives of the ordinary Iraqis.
This will also help to create employment for the local
people," Koizumi said of the ODA option.
Samawah
has been a relatively peaceful city, although an Iraqi
policeman was fatally shot on Saturday. In early
January, two men demonstrating about unemployment were
shot dead by Iraqi police, and in late December shots
were fired at the Dutch troops. By comparison with the
daily attacks on US forces, however, Samawah can be
classified as a fairly safe posting.
Ironically,
Japanese troops may actually become targets because of
the substantial financial support they are giving the
US-led reconstruction effort. Recent unconfirmed reports
claim that five suspected insurgents planned to attack
Japanese troops in Samawah. Iraqi police arrested five
men on the day the Japanese advance team arrived in the
city.
The other, far less publicized element of
Japan's Iraq policy is to keep Japanese ground forces
out of harm's way as much as possible. This will be
achieved by stationing the troops in an isolated,
fortress-like barracks and making self-protection the
mission's top priority. Should the troops come under
fire, they have orders to retreat immediately.
Japan hopes these precautions, linked with vast
amounts of yen, will minimize the danger to the troops
and reduce the chances of casualties. Any loss of life
could easily spell the end for Koizumi's premiership,
rip his coalition apart and cause his Liberal Democratic
Party to lose the Upper House elections in July.
The stakes are extremely high and Koizumi must
be hoping he has made a safe bet. However, as in all
games of chance, the outcome is far form certain.
J Sean Curtin is a GLOCOM
fellow at the Tokyo-based Japanese Institute of
Global Communications.
(Copyright 2004
Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
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