Japanese public opinion was divided over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's decision to send troops to Iraq, polls showed yesterday, just hours ahead of the expected arrival of the first Japanese soldiers in the Iraqi town of Samawa.
Koizumi defended the politically risky dispatch in a speech prepared for the opening of a new session of parliament.
"We would not be meeting our responsibilities as a member of the international community if we were to leave the contribution of personnel to other countries because of the possible danger," he said.
Foreign Minister Yoriko Ka-waguchi told parliament that Iraq's reconstruction was directly linked to the national interests of Japan, which relies on the Middle East for around 90 percent of its oil imports.
"If Iraq becomes a `failed state' and a base for terrorist activities as Afghanistan once was, it would become a large threat to not only the Middle East but the international community as a whole, including our country," Kawaguchi said.
An advance team was expected to cross the border from Kuwait into Iraq later yesterday on its way to the southern town, where it will begin preparations for the arrival of around 600 troops to take part in reconstruction and humanitarian activities.
About 48 percent of respondents to a weekend poll by Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun said they opposed the dispatch, down from 55 percent in the previous poll carried out in December. About 40 percent said they supported it, up from 34 percent.
Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world’s largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country yesterday rolled out sweeping online age restriction. Australia in December became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires artificial intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot services to keep certain content — including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material — from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$34.6 million). The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of US states requiring
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
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