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Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)


January 2004 - Japan Special Weapons News

  • 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.



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