Two Japanese diplomats killed in Iraq identified

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, November 30, 2003

Two Japanese diplomats killed in Iraq identified

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The two Japanese killed in northern Iraq were identified as Masamori Inoue, 30, a third secretary from the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad, and Katsuhiko Oku, 45, a counselor from the Japanese Embassy in London.

According to Japan's Foreign Ministry Sunday, the two Japanese were riding in a black four-wheel drive vehicle that bears a Lebanon registration number. The driver of the car, a Middle Eastern man, was seriously injured.

Deputy Vice Foreign Minister Shinichi Kitajima said two Japanese diplomats who were scheduled to attend a meeting in Tikrit were missing.

Kitajima said the two were among 11 Japanese diplomats traveling to Tikrit for the meeting, a conference on reconstruction work in northern Iraq.

According to the ministry, the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad was notified of the attack by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).

In Baghdad, the US-led CPA said the vehicle was a lightly bullet-proof car and was probably a Japanese diplomatic vehicle.

The Foreign ministry set up an emergency task force headed by Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi to handle the case. Kazunori Tanaka, parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, will be sent to Iraq, possibly later Sunday, the ministry said.

There is no change in Japan's policy on Iraq: FM

TOKYO, Nov. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Sunday that there is no change in Japan's policy on reconstruction work in Iraq, making the pledge after two Japanese nationals -- possibly diplomats -- were ambushed and killed in northern Iraq.

"There will be no change in Japan's policy on Iraq reconstruction," Kawaguchi said at an emergency press conference early Sunday.

Kawaguchi said Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has been notified that the attack in Iraq, the first Japanese death toll since the start of the US-led war in Iraq in March.

"Japan will continue to fight terrorism," Kawaguchi said.

The ministry, citing reports from Iraq, said the attack occurred near Tikrit, about 150 kilometers north of Baghdad, around 11 p.m. Japan time (1400 GMT). The three were riding in a four-wheel drive vehicle.

None of the victims was identified.

At the news conference, ministry officials said the two Japanese may be diplomats.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the Japanese Embassy in Baghdad was notified of the attack by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) of Iraq.

In Baghdad, the US-led CPA said the vehicle was a lightly bullet-proof car and may be one of the Japanese Embassy's diplomatic vehicles.

The Foreign Ministry set up an emergency task force headed by Kawaguchi to handle the case. And Kazunori Tanaka, parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs, will be sent to Iraq, possibly later Sunday, the ministry said.

Tikrit is the ancestral hometown of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and located in the violence-torn Sunni Triangle where the anti-American sentiment remains strong.

Recent attacks on the United States-led occupation forces and the latest episode involving the two Japanese nationals are troubling news to Japan which is preparing to send its self-defense forces troops to Iraq to assist in Iraq's reconstruction efforts.

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