Japan May Send Troops To Afghanistan: PM

'Japan May Send Troops To Afghanistan: PM', Agence France Presse, 1 June 2008

EXCERPT: "Japan is considering whether to send its first troops to Afghanistan on a reconstruction mission, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Sunday [1 June 2008]. Tokyo has been a major donor to Afghanistan, pledging 1.3 billion dollars since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001. However, its pacifist constitution limits its military activities, and it does not have troops among the international forces helping Afghanistan fight the resurgent Islamic extremist movement. "If conditions on the (Afgan) ground allow, Japan can offer its cooperation in activities on the ground. I'm always thinking of that possibility," Fukuda told reporters when asked about sending troops. His comments came one day after Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said the government was studying widening Japan's contribution on Afghanistan, in addition to a military refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean."

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