Japanese PM vows aid to Iraq, declares economic recovery

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, January 19, 2004

Japanese PM vows aid to Iraq, declares economic recovery

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reaffirmed his commitment to sending noncombat Japanese ground troops to Iraq as the country's parliament convened for a 150-day ordinary session Monday.

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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reaffirmed his commitment to sending noncombat Japanese ground troops to Iraq as the country's parliament convened for a 150-day ordinary session Monday.

"Establishing a stable and democratic government in Iraq is extremely important for both the international community and our country," Koizumi said in a major policy session first at the House of Representatives, or the lower house, and later at the House of Councilors, or the upper chamber.

Koizumi reiterated that Japan has to provide Iraq with not only material and financial contributions but also people, both Self-Defense Forces (SDF) troops and civilians.

His administration planned to send the main units of the SDF, consisting of troops from the Ground Self-Defense Forces, to Iraq either later this month or in February.

Japan will offer up to 5 billion US dollars to Iraq, including 1.5 billion dollars in grants to improve infrastructure, education and employment in the country, the premier said.

On the economic front, Koizumi said that he sees Japan's economy recovering.

"The Japanese economy is recovering steadily as corporate profits grow and capital investment increases," Koizumi said, citing real economic growth that has continued for six straight quarters and nominal growth that has done so for two quarters.

This is the first time since he took office in 2001 that Koizumi has clearly said Japan's economy is "recovering" in a policy speech.

He said his administration will accelerate reforms of the financial and tax systems, check expenditures and step up deregulation.

He said the bad-loan problem in the commercial banking sector will be cleaned up in fiscal 2004, which ends in March 2005. The amount of dud loans remaining at major banks decreased by more than 9 trillion Japanese yen in the past 18 months, he said.

The government aims to meet its goal of achieving a surplus in the primary balance in the early 2010s, Koizumi said.

The key tasks in the first half of Japan's 159th ordinary parliament session, which runs through June 16, will include approval of the fiscal 2004 budget and the dispatch of Japanese troops to a foreign country, namely Iraq.

The parliament session will end before the House of Councilors election, slated for July 11.

Koizumi's governing Liberal Democratic Party controls 245 of the 480 lower house seats and 116 of the 247 upper house seats. The Democratic Party of Japan, the main opposition party, holds 176 lower house and 67 upper house seats.

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