Japanese PM vows to fight terrorism with Iraq policy unchanged

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

Japanese PM vows to fight terrorism with Iraq policy unchanged

Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed on Sunday that Japan will not give in to terrorism after two Japanese diplomats were ambushed and killed in northern Iraq.

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Japan's Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed on Sunday that Japan will not give in to terrorism after two Japanese diplomats were ambushed and killed in northern Iraq.

"Our policy remains the same: we will not give in to terrorism," Koizumi was quoted by Kyodo News as saying at a meeting with his senior aides.

Koizumi indicated his government will continue to pursue its reconstruction policy on Iraq, saying Japan has the responsibility to help the Iraqis rebuild their war-torn country.

Foreign Ministry officials, citing reports from Iraq, said the attack on the Japanese diplomats occurred near Tikrit, about 150 kilometers north of Baghdad, around 11 p.m. Japan time (1400 GMT).

The two Japanese diplomats killed 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.

It is the first time that Japanese have been killed in Iraq since the start of the US -led war in Iraq.

The two Japanese were riding in a black four-wheel drive vehicle that bears a Lebanese registration number. The driver of the car, a Middle Eastern man, was seriously injured.

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

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

While there is little information about the assailants, the al-Qaida terrorist network has warned that Japanese nationals would be targets of attack if Japan sends troops to Iraq.

The Japanese government has indicated that it plans to send about 550 ground troops to southern Iraq early next year to take part in the US-led reconstruction work.

Recent attacks on the United Sates-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.

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

Meanwhile, seven Spanish intelligence agents were killed and an eighth was injured Saturday evening in an ambush south of Baghdad, Kyodo News said.

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