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Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

December

• Japan Demands Russia Return All Disputed Islands RFE/RL 24 Dec 2004 -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi today reiterated that Russia must return all four disputed Pacific islands seized in 1945 at the end of World War II.
• JAPAN-NOKOR ABDUCTIONS VOA 24 Dec 2004 -- Japan has sternly demanded that North Korea come clean on the fate of missing Japanese it abducted years ago or face retaliation, possibly economic sanctions. North Korea has previously stated that it would consider sanctions tantamount to a declaration of war.
• JAPAN-SOKOR SUMMIT VOA 17 Dec 2004 -- The leaders of Japan and South Korea say they will continue working together to revive stalled talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.
• JAPAN-NOKOR VOA 16 Dec 2004 -- Japan says North Korea has rejected scientific findings concerning human remains Pyongyang recently handed over. This response comes as the Japanese foreign minister says that economic sanctions could be imposed against North Korea if the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea is not resolved.
• CHINA TAIWAN JAPAN VOA 16 Dec 2004 -- China has condemned Tokyo's decision to allow the former president of Taiwan to visit Japan. The conflict comes during a period of heightened tensions between China and Japan.
• JAPAN-NOKOR SANCTIONS VOA 14 Dec 2004 -- North Korea has warned Japan that any sanctions against the communist state would be regarded as a declaration of war. Opinion polls show about two-thirds of the Japanese public supporting economic sanctions over the issue of Japanese kidnapped by North Korea during the Cold War.
• JAPAN/DEFENSE VOA 10 Dec 2004 -- Japan has taken another step towards freeing itself from military restrictions in place since the end of World War Two. The changes are a significant retreat from the pacifist policies that have kept the role of Japan's Self-Defense Forces limited in scope.
• JAPAN/NOKOR ABDUCTEES VOA 08 Dec 2004 -- Japan is lodging a protest with North Korea after forensic tests confirmed that what Pyongyang said were the remains of a Japanese woman abducted by North Korean agents are actually those of someone else.

  November

• Russia: Moscow Hints At Effort To Resolve Dispute With Japan Over Kurile Islands RFE/RL 16 Nov 2004 -- Could the long-running dispute between Japan and Russia over the four southern Kurile Islands be edging toward a resolution? Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin both recently announced that Moscow recognizes a 1956 declaration under which Moscow agreed to return two of the islands to Japan -- an indication it may be willing to reopen talks on the issue. But so far, the reaction from Tokyo has not been enthusiastic.
• Government Delegation of Japan Flies Back KCNA 16 Nov 2004 -- A government delegation of Japan led by Mitoji Yabunaka, chief of the Asia and Oceania Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, flew back today after participating in the inter-governmental working-level contact between the DPRK and Japan.
• JAPAN/SUBMARINE VOA 16 Nov 2004 -- Japan says China has apologized for one of its submarines sailing into Japanese waters last week. China has refused to confirm the apology, saying only that a "diplomatic" resolution has been reached.
• JAPAN ABDUCTESS / NOKOR VOA 15 Nov 2004 -- A delegation of Japanese Foreign Ministry and police agency officials has returned home after an extended fact-finding mission in the North Korean capital.The group was looking for information on Japanese citizens abducted by North Korean spies in the 1970s and 80s.
• JAPAN/CHINA SUBMARINE VOA 14 Nov 2004 -- Japan is still waiting for a response from Beijing concerning an alleged intrusion last week by a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine into Japanese waters.
• JAPAN / CHINA SUBMARINE VOA 12 Nov 2004 -- Japan says it will file a protest with the Chinese government after one of its submarines intruded into Japanese territorial waters.
• Suspected Chinese nuclear sub enters Japanese waters IRNA 10 Nov 2004 -- An unidentified submarine entered Japanese waters Wednesday for about two hours from around 6 a.m., Japan`s Defense Agency officials said, with agency sources adding that the vessel is suspected of being a Chinese nuclear sub.
• JAPAN / SUBMARINE INTRUDER VOA 10 Nov 2004 -- Japan put its naval forces on alert Wednesday after the government said an unidentified submarine had intruded into southern Japanese waters, near Okinawa.
• JAPAN/NOKOR TALKS VOA 09 Nov 2004 -- Japan and North Korea are holding talks in Pyongyang about the fate of Japanese who were kidnapped by agents of the communist state.
• JAPAN DEFENSE / WMD VOA 07 Nov 2004 -- Japan's prime minister (Sunday) has vowed to make the country's defense forces better able to fight terrorism and any attackers who would use weapons of mass destruction.

  October

• POWELL / JAPAN VOA 24 Oct 2004 -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell left Japan for China on Sunday, the second stop of an Asian tour. Mr. Powell is visiting the region to discuss the impasse with North Korea, which is boycotting six-nation talks concerning its nuclear weapons programs.
• EU to sign nuclear energy cooperation agreement with Japan IRNA 06 Oct 2004 -- The European Commission Wednesday said it will recommend to the EU Council to conclude an agreement on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy between Euratom -- the organization responsible for development of EU`s nuclear energy resources -- and Japan.
• JAPAN/DEFENSE VOA 04 Oct 2004 -- A government advisory panel is recommending sweeping changes to Japan's defense structure. This come as news reports say Japan will ask the United States to move some of its troops out of the country.
• Japan’s Visions for Future Security and Defense Capabilities Report of the Council on Security and Defense Capabilities Report, October 2004

  September

• NOKOR JAPAN TALKS VOA 26 Sep 2004 -- Japanese and North Korean negotiators held a second day of talks in Beijing as part of an effort by Tokyo to get more information on the fate of Japanese nationals kidnapped by North Korean agents decades ago.
• JAPAN/RUSSIA/ISLANDS VOA 02 Sep 2004 -- In a move that Moscow has criticized, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has sailed close to Russian-held islands that Japan claims as its own.

  August

• JAPAN/ SOKOR/NUKE TALKS VOA 27 Aug 2004 -- Diplomatic activity is increasing in Asian capitals, ahead of an anticipated fourth round of six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons development. This comes after North Korea again threatened not to attend the meetings.
• JAPAN/UN VOA 24 Aug 2004 -- Japan is about to step up its campaign to win a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
• NOKOR/JAPAN/TALKS VOA 12 Aug 2004 -- Talks between Japanese and North Korean diplomats have ended in Beijing, apparently without a resolution to the issue of Japanese kidnap victims. The issue is crucial to establishing diplomatic ties between the two countries.
• NOKOR JAPAN TALKS VOA 11 Aug 2004 -- Japanese and North Korean officials are meeting in Beijing, hoping to remove stumbling blocks toward establishing diplomatic ties
• JAPAN/ NUCLEAR ACCIDENT VOA 10 Aug 2004 -- Police in Japan have begun investigating Monday's nuclear power plant accident, which killed four workers. The Japanese government has ordered all power companies to inspect pipes in nuclear plants for possible faults.
• Spokesman for DPRK FM Blasts "Joint Naval Exercise" to Be Hosted by Japan KCNA 09 Aug 2004 -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry Saturday answered a question put by KCNA as regards the fact that the United States has instigated Japan to stage a "joint naval exercise" against the DPRK.
• JAPAN/NUCLEAR ACCIDENT VOA 08 Aug 2004 -- Four workers are dead and seven others injured in an accident at a nuclear power plant in western Japan. Officials are calling it the country's worst accident at a working nuclear reactor.
• JAPAN/NUCLEAR BOMB VOA 05 Aug 2004 -- During the ceremony marking the 59th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the Japanese city's mayor used his annual Peace Declaration to take a swipe at the United States.

  July

• NORTH KOREA RELATIONS VOA 20 Jul 2004 -- Japan's government says talks on opening diplomatic relations with North Korea may begin in the coming months. This comes as the Japanese prime minister prepares to meet with South Korea's president, and as a leading U.S. arms control diplomat is in Seoul to discuss strategy on dealing with the communist North.
• JAPAN/ELECTION VOA 12 Jul 2004 -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, one day after an election setback, is vowing to continue his economic reforms and keep Japan's troops in Iraq. But the outcome of Sunday's parliamentary election could mean the prime minister will have a tougher time achieving his goals.
• JAPAN / NOKOR RELATIONS VOA 09 Jul 2004 -- Japan says it is willing to resume talks on normalizing relations with North Korea.
• NOKOR/JAPAN REUNION VOA 05 Jul 20004 -- The Japanese government says a family reunion set to take place in Indonesia this week will be a major step towards better relations between Japan and North Korea.
• JAPAN/NOKOR REUNION VOA 02 Jul 2004 -- Japan's government says it is working to arrange a reunion for a Japanese woman separated from her family in North Korea for nearly two years. Japan and North Korea, which have no diplomatic relations, have discussed the issue repeatedly in recent months.

  June

• JAPAN / NUCLEAR TABOO VOA 11 Jun 2004 -- Japan, as the first and only nation to be the target of wartime atomic weapons, has long had what is called a "nuclear allergy." The country has vowed never to produce, introduce or possess nuclear weapons. But recently there has been debate about whether Japan should one day cure itself of that allergy and abandon its post-World War pacifism.
• KOIZUMI / NOKOR VOA 08 Jun 2004 -- Japan's prime minister is expected to tell the leaders of the G-8 summit in the United States, that North Korea wants to dismantle its nuclear weapons program - despite public rhetoric.

  May

• JAPAN/SOKOR DISPUTE VOA 31 May 2004 -- A centuries-old territorial dispute between Japan and South Korea is again escalating. In recent weeks, Japanese ultra-nationalists have attempted to land on the tiny island group they call Takeshima. South Koreans, more recently, made the Japanese angry by placing a group of amateur radio operators on the rocky islets, known in Korean as Dokdo (or Tokdo).
• JAPAN / AL-QAIDA VOA 26 May 2004 -- Japanese police have made five arrests of suspects thought to be linked to an alleged senior member of the al-Qaida terrorist network
• Japanese Prime Minister Interviewed by Reporters KCNA 24 May 2004 -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had an interview with reporters at Pyongyang Koryo Hotel Saturday in connection with his visit to the DPRK.
• JAPAN/NORTH KOREA REACT VOA 24 May 2004 -- New opinion polls show that most Japanese approve of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi attending a summit meeting in Pyongyang last Saturday with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, but most are also disappointed with the results.
• Koizumi Acknowledges Flaws in North Korea Meeting VOA News 23 May 2004 -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has acknowledged his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il did not meet expectations, despite the release of five children of Japanese kidnap victims.
• JAPAN/NOKOR VOA 22 May 2004 -- Five family members of Japanese abducted by North Korea during the Cold War are on their way to be reunited with their parents in Japan. They boarded a Japanese government plane Saturday evening in Pyonygang, following a 90-minute summit between Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
• JAPAN/NOKOR KOIZUMI VOA 21 May 2004 -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi makes a one-day trip to the capital of North Korea on Saturday. Expectations are high that the visit will lead to a breakthrough in the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens, which has prevented the two countries from moving toward normalizing relations.
• JAPAN / NOKOR / U-S VOA 16 May 2004 -- Japanese media say their government has asked the United States not to prosecute a U-S military deserter who may be coming to Japan soon from North Korea. The former Army sergeant is married to a Japanese woman who was abducted by the North Koreans and is now back in Japan. The case of Charles Jenkins is a complicating factor in resolving the abduction issue between Japan and North Korea.
• Japanese Prime Minister to Visit DPRK KCNA 15 May 2004 -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit the DPRK in late May to implement the DPRK-Japan Pyongyang Declaration and restore the relations of confidence between the DPRK and Japan.
• JAPAN NOKOR VOA 14 May 2004 -- Japan's prime minister is making a second trip to North Korea for talks with that country's leader. Japan and North Korea have no diplomatic ties. The impending visit is raising expectations of a breakthrough on such thorny bilateral issues as North Korea's abduction of Japanese nationals.
• KCNA on Truth about Japan's Nuclear Issue KCNA 10 May 2004 -- The Korean Central News Agency released a lengthy memorandum Saturday bringing to light the truth behind the nuclear issue of Japan to warn the Japanese militarist forces against their dangerous moves for nuclear weaponization and resolutely foil them.
• JAPAN/NOKOR VOA 10 May 2004 -- Japan's prime minister is not commenting on speculation he might again travel to North Korea to break the impasse on Japanese citizens abducted by the North - the major barrier to improved relations between the two countries.
• KOREAS/TALKS VOA 05 Apr 2004 -- Japanese and North Korean negotiators have wrapped up talks, without indicating whether the families of Japanese citizens Pyongyang once held captive will be allowed to go to Japan. Those talks are only part of the diplomatic activity involving North Korea.
• KOREA/TALKS VOA 04 May 2004 -- There is a flurry of diplomatic activity under way concerning North Korea. Two sets of talks are taking place between North Korean and its neighbors.

  April

• Japan to Send Humanitarian Aid to North Korean Blast Victims VOA News 25 Apr 2004 -- Japan has announced it will send emergency relief to North Korea following a deadly train explosion in the city of Ryongchon.
• JAPAN/MILITARY VOA 21 Apr 2004 -- Japan's military has entered a new era with its dispatch of non-combat troops to Iraq and logistical support for coalition navies in the Persian Gulf region. The expanded role is not without controversy.
• JAPAN/IRAQ HOSTAGES VOA 17 Apr 2004 -- The Japanese government has confirmed that the remaining two Japanese hostages in Iraq have been freed.
• JAPAN / HOSTAGES VOA 16 Apr 2004 -- After the release of three Japanese hostages in Iraq, attention in Japan is now turning to the whereabouts of two additional missing Japanese last seen near Baghdad.
• JAPAN HOSTAGES FREED VOA 15 Apr 2004 -- Three Japanese held hostage in Iraq have been released in Baghdad, but there is still concern about two other Japanese who were reported missing on Thursday.
• JAPAN/IRAQ HOSTAGES VOA 15 Apr 2004 -- Japan's government says it is trying to determine if two more of its citizens have been kidnapped in Iraq.
• Japan`s efforts for release of hostages in Iraq stalled IRNA 12 Apr 2004 -- The Japanese government leaders said Monday they are dealing with a barrage of information concerning the three Japanese nationals taken hostage last week by an armed group in Iraq as the government continues to work on gaining their release.
• JAPAN/IRAQ HOSTAGES VOA 12 Apr 2004 -- Vice President Dick Cheney has promised Japan's prime minister the United States will do all it can to help free three Japanese held hostage in Iraq. Mr. Cheney made the pledge during a meeting in Tokyo.
• JAPAN/IRAQ HOSTAGES VOA 11 Apr 2004 -- Officials in Tokyo are still awaiting word that three Japanese hostages have been freed in Iraq. There had been expectations, expressed by members of Japan's governing coalition, that the three would be freed at mid-day Sunday.
• Iraq: Officials Continue Efforts To Seek Release Of Hostages RFE/RL 10 Apr 2004 -- Officials from several countries are continuing efforts today to secure the release of their citizens held hostage in Iraq.
• Iraq: Hostage Taking Sparks Political Crisis In Japan RFE/RL 09 Apr 2004 -- Japan joined the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq with the provision that its soldiers would carry out a purely humanitarian mission by helping with reconstruction. Now, Tokyo finds itself ever more embroiled in Iraq's violence as a group of militants has taken three of its nationals hostage and threatened to kill them unless all Japanese troops leave the country. The kidnappers have given Tokyo three days to decide what to do.
• ASIA/IRAQ HOSTAGES/REACTION VOA 09 Apr 2004 -- Japan and South Korea are vowing to keep to their troop commitments in Iraq despite kidnappings of their civilians in the war-torn country. The incidents are proving to be a political and public relations challenge for both governments.
• Japan Will Not Withdraw Troops From Iraq RFE/RL 08 Apr 2004 -- The Japanese government has said it will not withdraw troops from Iraq following the kidnapping of three Japanese civilians.
• ASIA / IRAQ HOSTAGES / REACTION VOA 08 Apr 2004 -- Iraqi insurgents have kidnapped three Japanese civilians and are threatening to kill them unless Japan withdraws its troops from Iraq. apan says there is no reason to pull its forces out of Iraq.
• JAPAN/NOKOR TALKS VOA 03 Apr 2004 -- Two Japanese politicians are being criticized at home for going to China for an unauthorized meeting with North Korean officials. The incident came amid Japanese frustration over a lack of movement on the issue of North Korea's past abductions of Japanese citizens.
• JAPAN/US NAVY VOA 02 Apr 2004 -- A suggestion by a U-S admiral that a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier might be based in Japan starting in 2008 is generating objections from some quarters in the country.

  March

• JAPAN / U-S ESPIONAGE VOA 29 Mar 2004 -- A Japanese researcher indicted in the United States on industrial espionage charges has been released from detention by a court in Tokyo. The court rejected a U-S request to extradite the doctor.
• CHINA/JAPAN/ISLANDS VOA 25 Mar 2004 -- China is protesting Japan's detention of Chinese activists who landed on a disputed island in the East China Sea. Japan says it plans to return the activists to China after questioning them. The detention of the seven men has prompted protests outside the Japanese Embassy in the Chinese capital.
• NORTH KOREA / COMIC BOOKS VOA 18 Mar 2004 -- A series of comic books that portray North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as an evil despot are selling briskly in Japan. The books' author says he hopes to educate the Japanese public about Mr. Kim and his reclusive Stalinist state, but critics say the books are deeply biased.

  February

• Russian, US, Japanese delegations arrive for six-party talks PLA Daily 24 Feb 2004 -- Russian, US and Japanese delegations successively arrived in Beijing Monday to attend the forthcoming six-party talks on the Korean nuclear issue.
• Seoul, Washington, Tokyo work on joint strategies before six-party talks PLA Daily 24 Feb 2004 -- Seoul, Washington, Tokyo officials held trilateral meeting here on Monday, using the last chance before the opening of the new round six-party nuclear talks to mapout their joint position.
• JAPAN/LAWSUIT VOA 24 Feb 2004 -- Even as United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is praising Japan for its military deployment to Iraq, a class action lawsuit is seeking to have the deployment declared illegal.
• S.Korea, US and Japan hold informal consultations over DPRK nuclear issue PLA Daily 23 Feb 2004 -- Representatives of South Korea, the United States and Japan held informal consultations Sunday evening here over the nuclear issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
• N. KOREA / PREP TALKS VOA 22 Feb 2004 -- High-level diplomats from the United States and Japan have arrived in South Korea to fine tune strategy ahead of Wednesday's six-nation talks in Beijing on dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
• Japan, US agree to boost cooperation in nuke nonproliferation PLA Daily 19 Feb 2004 -- Japan and the United States agreed Wednesday to boost cooperation to strengthen international efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear technologies, Japanese foreign ministry said.
• JAPAN/BOLTON DEFENSE VOA 19 Feb 2004 -- A senior U-S official says the success of the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear-weapons program next week depends on Pyongyang's commitment to halting its efforts to build bombs.
• JAPAN / IRAN OIL VOA 19 Feb 2004 -- Despite official U-S concern, ally Japan has gone ahead with a major deal to develop an oil field in southwest Iran. Negotiations had gone on for three years and stalled for a time after President Bush included Iran in what he called the "axis of evil."
• NOKOR TALKS VOA 14 Feb 2004 -- Japan and North Korea have failed to resolve their dispute over Pyongyang's Cold War-era abduction of Japanese citizens, despite the surprise dispatch of a high-level Japanese delegation to Pyongyang. The meeting represented the two countries' first government-level talks since October 2002.
• Japan's GSDF to take 8,000 tons of equipment, supplies to Iraq PLA Daily 13 Feb 2004 -- Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) contingent being deployed for reconstruction missions in Iraq will take more than 8,000 tons of equipment, supplies, including weapons and daily necessities, the Defense Agency said Thursday.
• KCNA Assails Japan's Passage of Anti-DPRK Amendment KCNA 13 Feb 2004 -- Japan finally passed the "amendment to the law on foreign exchange" calling for applying sanctions and blockade against the DPRK through the House of Councilors at its meeting on Feb. 9.
• Russia seeking acceptable solution on WW2 peace treaty with Japan:diplomat PLA Daily 12 Feb 2004 -- A senior Russian diplomat said on Wednesday that his country would continue searching for an "acceptable" solution to the still outstanding World War II peace treaty with Japan.
• PAKISTAN/JAPAN/NUCLEAR VOA 11 Feb 2004 -- Pakistan has promised to share with Japan the findings of an ongoing internal investigation into illegal transfers of nuclear technology to North Korea.
• Japan's upper house approves SDF dispatch PLA Daily 01 Feb 2004 -- Japan's upper house Monday gave a green light to the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF), which meant a formal legal recognition of the disputed operation.
• IRAQ/JAPAN VOA 08 Feb 2004 -- A contingent of Japanese troops arrived in Iraq Sunday, in their first overseas assignment since the end of World War II. The controversial deployment will be a test for the Japanese leadership at home.
• Japan provides equipment, weapons for GSDF's Iraq mission PLA Daily 06 Feb 2004 -- The first of the six chartered Russian transport planes carrying equipment and weapons for Iraq reconstruction mission of Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF)arrived Thursday in Kuwait from Japan.
• Japan ground troop for Iraq mission arrives in Kuwait PLA Daily 05 Feb 2004 -- The first main group of Japan's core Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) for Iraq's reconstruction efforts arrived in Kuwait on a government jet Wednesday, Kyodo News reported.
• China concerned about Japan dispatching troops to Iraq: FM spokeswoman PLA Daily 04 Feb 2004 -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said here Tuesday that China is concerned about Japan sending troops to Iraq.
• Japan's first ground troop leaves for Iraq PLA Daily 04 Feb 2004 -- The first group of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) main troop left Japan on Tuesday afternoon from Chitose air base in Hokkaido as part of Japan's efforts for Iraq's reconstruction.
• Japanese PM shows reassurance on GSDF dispatch to Iraq PLA Daily 04 Feb 2004 -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday he was reassured by the determination on the faces of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) troops who left for their reconstruction mission in Iraq.
• DPRK Foreign Ministry Spokesman on Japan's Abduction of Its Citizens KCNA 03 Feb 2004 -- The abduction of Korean citizens by "the Fund for Relief of North Korean Refugees," a Japanese right-wing organization, in recent years is a crime against humanity as it violates international law and the law of the DPRK.
• Japan Has Nothing to Expect KCNA 03 Feb 2004 -- Recently, the House of Representatives of Japan finally passed the "amendment to the law on foreign exchange" through Diet, angering the Korean people. Kim Kwang Rin, chairman of the State Planning Commission, in an interview with KCNA on February 1, said
• JAPAN / IRAQ TROOPS VOA 03 Feb 2004 -- Japanese ground troops have left for Iraq (Tuesday) - marking the country's first full military deployment to a combat zone since World War Two. The humanitarian mission has drawn strong criticism in Japan, where many people fear the troops could come under attack.
• Rodong Sinmun on Japan's Overseas Military Operations KCNA 02 Feb 2004 -- Japan recently dispatched large armed forces of its "Self-Defence Forces" to Iraq, a battle field between the occupation army and the resisting forces.
• Japanese lower house passes bill of SDF dispatch to Iraq PLA DAily 02 Feb 2004 -- Japan's House of Representatives on Saturday endorsed the dispatch of the country's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to Iraq, and a bill for an extra fiscal 2003 budget to finance it, with the backing of Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's governing coalition.
• Japan's Adoption of Anti-DPRK Law Assailed KCNA 02 Feb 2004 -- Japan passed amendment to the law on foreign exchange and trade with foreign countries through the House of Representatives on Jan. 28 in a bid to support by law its moves to strangle the DPRK economically and settle the outstanding issues between the DPRK and the U.S. and between the DPRK and Japan in keeping with its intention to stifle the DPRK, says Minju Joson Sunday in a signed commentary.

  January

• Japanese Chemist Sentenced to Death for Participation in Terror Attacks VOA News 31 Jan 2004 -- A Japanese court has sentenced to death the chemist who helped lead terrorist attacks that killed at least 20 people and injured thousands in 1994 and 1995. The judgment against the senior member of the Aum Shinrikyo terrorist cult comes after an eight-year trial.
• New Japanese Law Pressures N. Korea to Give Up Nuclear Program VOA News 29 Jan 2004 -- Japan's lower house of parliament has passed a bill making it easier for the country to impose sanctions on North Korea. The legislation is seen as a tool to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program.
• JAPAN / IRAQ / TROOPS VOA 26 Jan 2004 -- Japan's defense chief, Shigeru Ishiba, on Monday ordered the dispatch of ground troops to Iraq for humanitarian duties and reconstruction work. The order came hours after the Japanese government cleared the final political obstacle to the dispatch of troops to Iraq. The decision means Japanese soldiers will be operating in a combat zone for the first time since World War II.
• Pakistan, Japan hold security, defense dialogue IRNA 24 Jan 2004 -- Pakistan and Japan on Saturday held their first round of security dialogue in Islamabad and shared their perspectives of regional and global, strategic and security environment.
• KCNA Comments on Japan's Move for "New Defence Program" KCNA 23 Jan 2004 -- The Japanese government decided to introduce the MD system and has planned to fundamentally examine the readjustment of defence power and the existence mode of the "Self-Defence Forces" and map out a "new defence program" this summer.
• U-N CONTRIBUTIONS/JAPAN VOA 22 Jan 2004 -- Japan is planning big cuts in its financial contribution to the United Nations. A decrease in Tokyo's contribution could be a significant blow to the world body's operations.
• Japan to again deploy Aegis warship to Arabian Sea PLA Daily 21 Jan 2004 -- Japan's Aegis destroyer Myoukou will depart on Friday from Maizuru base in Kyoto Prefecture to replace the destroyer Hiei as part of the government's antiterrorism campaign in the Arabian Sea, the Defense Agency's Maritime Staff Office said Tuesday.
• Japan opposition party to vote against dispatch of SDF to Iraq PLA Daily 21 Jan 2004 -- The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) confirmed a plan Tuesday to vote against the ongoing dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) troops to Iraq, a senior DPJ lawmaker said.
• China concerned about Japan's troop deployment to Iraq PLA Daily 21 Jan 2004 -- China is concerned about Japan's deployment of its self-defense forces to Iraq, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan here Tuesday.
• Japanese advance ground troops enter Iraq PLA Daily 20 Jan 2004 -- An advance team of Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) crossed the border into Iraq from Kuwait on Monday to prepare for aid activities in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah, Kyodo News reported.
• Baghdad blast not to affect Japan's troops dispatch to Iraq PLA Daily 20 Jan 2004 -- Japan's plan to send troops to Iraq will not be affected by a suicide bombing in Baghdad on Sunday outside the US-led coalition headquarters, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Monday.
• Japan mulling sending military helicopters to Iraq PLA Daily 20 Jan 2004 -- Japan's Defense Agency is considering dispatching UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from its Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) to Iraq for emergency transportation of injured personnel and senior officials.
• Iraq: First Japanese Troops Arrive On Reconstruction Mission RFE/RL 19 Jan 2004 -- Japan deployed an advance team to southeastern Iraq today as it prepares to send up to 600 soldiers to the country by late March. The troops, the first dispatched by Tokyo to a hostile region since World War II, are to support reconstruction and humanitarian projects.
• JAPAN/IRAQ TROOPS VOA 19 Jan 2004 -- As the first Japanese soldiers headed into Iraq Monday, Japan's prime minister defended his order for the dispatch.
• JAPAN/NORTH KOREA VOA 17 Jan 2004 -- Japan's ruling coalition and the main opposition party are reported to have agreed on a law that would allow the government the ability to restrict cash remittances from Japan to North Korea. The remittances comprise a major source of the cash-strapped communist country's hard currency.
• Japanese warships attack Chinese fishing boats in areas off Diaoyu Island PLA Daily 16 Jan 2004 -- Ten Japanese warships and a plane attacked two Chinese fishing boats using a water cannon Thursday night at areas off Chinese Diaoyu Islands, injuring one Chinese boatman, a Chinese activist told Xinhua.
• Japan eyes relaxing arms-export ban just for missile PLA Daily 15 Jan 2004 -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday the purpose of a government plan to relax Japan's arms export ban will be limited to developing a missile shield with the United States.
• JAPAN NOKOR VISIT VOA 14 Jan 2004 -- Japanese diplomats are visiting North Korea for the first time in 15 months. The diplomats appear to have dual assignments: take custody of a Japanese man facing drug charges and discuss the fate of the family members of former Japanese abductees.
• Japan's SDF Iraq dispatch "not without risk": US general PLA Daily 13 Jan 2004 -- Top US military officer Gen. Richard Myers said Monday that he would not rule out the possibility that Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) could be the target of attacks during their deployment to Iraq to aid in reconstruction efforts there.
• Japan's Reckless Moves against DPRK Condemned KCNA 10 Jan 2004 -- The Japanese right-wing conservative forces have recently kicked up an anti-DPRK racket, blustering that they would draw up an amendment to the "Law on Foreign Exchange and Trade" and a "bill on prohibiting and restricting the entry of specified foreign ships into Japanese ports" and submit them to the Diet session this year.
• Japanese defense head hopes Iraqi operation to expand SDF role PLA Daily 09 Jan 2004 -- Japanese Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday the humanitarian mission to be carried out by the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in Iraq would pay a way for its broader international role.
• Implementation of DPRK-Japan Pyongyang Declaration Called for KCNA 08 Jan 2004 -- Consistent is the DPRK's political stand towards Japan. The relations between the DPRK and Japan will make substantial progress if they sincerely fulfil their commitments made in the DPRK-Japan Pyongyang Declaration. Minju Joson today says this in a signed commentary.
• Japan Urged to Properly Opt for Improved Relations KCNA 07 Jan 2004 -- Japan should attach importance to the sincere implementation of the DPRK-Japan Pyongyang Declaration from the viewpoint that it is beneficial to Japan, too, and exert substantial efforts for improving the bilateral relations in good faith, urges Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary.
• Japanese troops' departure for Iraq signals shift in its defense policy PLA Daily 02 Jan 2004 -- A contingent of Japan's Self-Defense Forces left for Iraq in late 2003, indicating Japan's intention to become a political and military power and presages a shift in its defense strategy, a Chinese newspaper said Thursday.
• JAPAN / WAR SHRINE VOA 01 Jan 2004 -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi began the new year by making a surprise visit to a controversial Tokyo war shrine. The visit drew protests from some of Japan's Asian neighbors who view the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism.