Japan's defense chief, arguing yesterday in support of a widely opposed troop dispatch to Iraq, said Tokyo's mission was humanitarian but that only the military was sufficiently equipped to carry it out.
Also, media reported the government had decided to beef up the weaponry that the Japanese ground troops will use when they head for their reconstruction work in southern Iraq.
"The reason it is necessary to have ground troops [in Iraq] is so that each person will feel they benefited because Japan came to help," defense chief Shigeru Ishiba said on a program aired by public broadcaster NHK.
"To provide medical assistance, help repair schools, provide clean water -- the Self-Defense Forces have the capability to do these things," he said.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has pledged to send Japan's military to help rebuild Iraq. But he hasn't given specifics about the mission's timing and size, amid public criticism that it could get troops embroiled in growing violence and make Japan a terrorist target.
Opposition has intensified since two Japanese diplomats were killed there by gunmen on Nov. 29 -- the country's first casualties in the US-led war in Iraq.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
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