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3 New energy to Japan's
diplomacy By Hisane Masaki
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran and
Lebanon, as well as bilateral economic
cooperation.
Japan has been one of the
staunchest supporters of the United States in the
war in Iraq. Although Japan withdrew its ground
troops from Iraq last summer, its airmen are still
flying supplies and personnel between Kuwait and
Iraq. Japan also has
dispatched Maritime
Self-Defense Force (SDF) vessels to the Indian
Ocean to refuel US and other coalition ships as
part of efforts to assist anti-terrorism
operations in Afghanistan.
At a port in
Abu Dhabi on Sunday, Abe addressed members of the
Maritime SDF. Aboard the docked refueling ship
Hamana, he told the crew he hopes they will help
"write a new chapter for Japan on the front lines
of international contribution", referring to the
recent upgrading of SDF overseas activities into
one of its primary duties from previous secondary
status. "Your activities are highly appreciated
internationally. I hope that you will proudly
accomplish the mission and return to Japan in good
shape," he said.
In Kuwait, Abe met with
about 200 members of the air force unit stationed
at Ali Al Salem Air Base in a show of support for
their airlift mission between Kuwait and Iraq.
Referring to deteriorating security and living
conditions in Iraq, Abe said, "In whatever
circumstances, I am confident that you will
continue to make a major contribution to the
reconstruction of Iraq as the representatives of
Japan with the support you provide to the United
Nations and multinational forces."
In
their separate joint statements with Abe, most of
the Middle East leaders, including Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak, expressed their
appreciation for Japan's "contributions for the
reconstruction and stability of Iraq". Some of the
statements specifically cite either Japan's
provision of economic aid or its sponsoring of a
seminar on national reconciliation, attended by
influential Iraqi figures, in Tokyo in March. But
no statement directly referred to Japan's dispatch
of SDF troops.
On Wednesday, Abe met with
Mubarak on the last leg of his five-nation Middle
East tour. The two leaders reaffirmed their
cooperation in promoting peace in the Middle East
and in dealing with issues related to Iraq and
Iran. Abe was quoted as telling Mubarak that he
wants to strengthen Japan's partnership with
Egypt, as Japan regards the country as playing a
key role, especially in the Middle East as a peace
broker.
Meanwhile, ministers from the
Middle East and other international powers began
to meet in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh
on Thursday for two days of talks to discuss
Iraq's security. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro
Aso was to attend the conference on Friday.
Intensifying race for uranium On his visit to Central Asia, Economy, Trade
and Industry Minister Amari stressed the need to
diversify Japan's sources of uranium in an
increasingly competitive market. He and Kazakh
Prime Minister Karim Masimov issued a joint
statement aimed at boosting bilateral civilian
nuclear cooperation and the Central Asian nation's
uranium supplies to Japan.
"It declares
that the two nations are mutually beneficial
strategic partners in the nuclear field,'' Amari
said at the signing ceremony.
"The two
countries' cooperative ties will make big
progress,'' Masimov said at the same ceremony.
They also confirmed that negotiations will begin
for a nuclear-cooperation agreement to ensure
smooth exchanges of nuclear technology and
materials.
Meanwhile, top executives from
29 Japanese companies accompanying Amari signed 24
business deals with Kazakh firms to help ensure
stable uranium supplies to Japan in the long term
and facilitate the transfer of civilian nuclear
technology to Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has the
world's second-largest uranium reserves after
Australia. But at present, the Central Asian
nation supplies only 1% of Japan's uranium
imports. Australia and Canada supply 33% and 27%,
respectively. As a result of the deals signed this
week, Kazakhstan's share of Japan's uranium
imports is expected to jump to 30-40% in the
future.
Among the 24 deals, Marubeni Corp,
Tokyo Electronic Power Co and Chubu Electric Power
Co agreed with Kazakh state-run atomic company
Kazatomprom to develop jointly the Kharassan
uranium mine in southern Kazakhstan. Itochu Corp
signed a contract for a long-term supply of
uranium concentrate from Kazakhstan.
Toshiba Corp agreed with Kazatomprom to
help build nuclear power plants. The Japanese side
also agreed to provide Kazakhstan with
technological assistance for processing uranium
fuel and building light-water reactors in exchange
for uranium supplies.
Before Kazakhstan,
Amari visited Uzbekistan, where he agreed with
Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev that Japan and
Uzbekistan will strengthen cooperation in
exploring and developing oil, natural gas, uranium
and other mineral resources in the Central Asian
republic in exchange for Japan's support in
improving that country's investment climate.
Uzbekistan's uranium reserves are the 10th-largest
in the world.
Hisane Masaki is a
Tokyo-based journalist, commentator and scholar on
international politics and economy. Masaki's
e-mail address is yiu45535@nifty.com.
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