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Japanese leader under fire over troops for Iraq
EFL
Japanâs main opposition leader yesterday called for the prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, to resign during a heated parliamentary debate on the deployment of Japanese ground troops to Iraq. Naoto Kan, leader of the Democratic Party,
said sending troops to a war zone, even on a supposedly peaceful mission, violated Japanâs constitution, which renounces use of force to settle international disputes.
| Dispute's settled. We're cleaning up now. |
The ruling Liberal Democratic Partyâs coalition partner, the Buddhist-backed New Komeito, will meet next Monday to discuss the troop dispatch. Despite opposition to the deployment among New Komeito MPs, the party leader, Takenori Kanzaki, is expected to signal approval at a meeting with Mr Koizumi later that day. Mr Koizumi replied that troops would carry out their humanitarian mission only in "safe" areas. But he added that they would be entitled to use weapons if attacked by rebels.
| It's kind of a Japanese tradition... |
The debate descended into a slanging match as opposition MPs accused the prime minister of dodging questions and refused to end the session.
Slanging match in the Japanese parliment - whoâd have thunk it.
Divisions over Japanâs support for the US-led war in Iraq have deepened since an advance unit of about 30 ground troops arrived in Samawah, in Iraqâs south-east, on Monday.
Embed the journalists or your population will not rally to your cause. That may be one of the bigger reasons that HW Bushâs approval rating evaporated so quickly.
Posted by: Super Hose 2004-01-22 |
