Diplomatic Bluebook 2001
Chapter II. JAPAN'S FOREIGN POLICY IN MAJOR DIPLOMATIC FIELDS

SECTION 1. POLITICS AND SECURITY

B. World Peace and Stability

1. Overview

Even as we enter the 21st century, there are still diverse factors of instability in the international community. Especially during the last decade of the 20^th century, the world's attention has been riveted not only by conflicts among nation-states, but also by domestic disputes within several nations. As for the means whereby these conflicts are conducted, there is a serious concern about the further proliferation of nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction as well as of the missiles that serve as their delivery systems. Many have also noted the importance of addressing the issue of small arms, which are the main weapons used (refer to Chapter II, Section 1-B-3).

These developments have fostered a renewed awareness of the importance of conflict prevention (refer to Chapter II, Section 1-B-2) and international peace cooperation (refer to Chapter II, Section 1-B-4). Terrorism (refer to Chapter II, Section 1-B-5) and refugee problems (refer to Chapter II, Section 1-B-6) which result from conflicts and other causes are also attracting the attention of the international community because they exert a grave influence on world peace and stability, and threaten the lives, safety, and dignity of individual human beings.

During 2000, the international community moved to advance the Middle East peace process (primarily through the efforts of the United States) and addressed the problems in Kosovo, the nation-building and rehabilitation of East Timor, and conflicts on the African continent. The continued involvement of the international community in addressing these regional conflicts and issues is indispensable to realize stability and prosperity throughout the globe. As a country dependent upon global peace and stability, Japan must continue to actively participate in these international efforts.

2. Conflict Prevention

In recent years, the international community has come to widely recognize the importance not only of conflict resolution but also of comprehensive conflict prevention. The concept of the latter covers identifying and addressing the causes of potential conflicts beforehand, keeping conflicts from escalation, trying to bring them to a rapid conclusion when they do occur, and preventing reoccurrence by enhancing social stability as well as using other means after ceasefire agreements have been reached.

In 2000, discussions deepening the understanding of conflict prevention took place in numerous international fora. As the Chair of the G8, Japan led such discussions.

At the G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting on conflict prevention held in Berlin in December 1999, it was decided that the G8 would address several concrete issues for conflict prevention. Following up on this decision, Japan, as the Chair of the G8, prepared the G8 Miyazaki Initiatives for Conflict Prevention which were endorsed at the G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Miyazaki during the G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit. The Miyazaki Initiatives call upon the G8 to promote conflict prevention particularly in the following five areas: small arms and light weapons, conflict and development, illicit trade in diamonds, children in armed conflict, and international civil police (CIVPOL). The Miyazaki Initiatives also point out the importance of having actors, such as international and regional organizations, states, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), coordinate their approaches toward conflict prevention. The G8 thus took the first concrete step toward conflict prevention.

It is underscored that Japan's efforts in the two areas of small arms and light weapons as well as conflict and development were particularly noteworthy.

Small Arms and Light Weapons: The Miyazaki Initiatives incorporate the first explicit statement that the G8 will not authorize the export of small arms if there is a clear risk that these might be used for oppression or aggression against another country. Furthermore, Japan announced that it would additionally donate about US$2 million to a UN trust fund called the Small Arms Fund, as Japan's original contribution. Japan also demonstrated its initiative in preparations for the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, which will be held in July 2001.

Conflict and Development: During the G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit the government of Japan released a policy document entitled "Action from Japan on 'Conflict and Development,' Japanese Development Cooperation for Conflict Prevention." This document incorporates policy guidelines stipulating that Japan would reinforce its aid for conflict prevention at all phases of a conflict and deepen its cooperation with and strengthen its support for NGOs, important actors in conflict prevention.

Illicit Trade in Diamonds: The G8 initiated action to prevent illicit trade in diamonds, because such valuable natural resources are illegally traded as a means to raise funds for armed groups. During 2000, the international community also made great progress in addressing the illicit trade in diamonds produced in conflict areas. In May, representatives of the world's leading diamond-producing states, diamond-processing states, and the diamond industry met in Kimberly, South Africa, and agreed to work together to prevent the illicit trade in diamonds. This approach has come to be known as the Kimberly Process, named after the town where the meeting took place. In October, the government of the United Kingdom called an intergovernmental meeting in London to address the illicit trade in diamonds, with the participation of the Kimberly Process participants and major diamond-importing states, including Japan. This meeting prompted momentum toward establishing an international certification scheme for the trade in rough diamonds. Moreover, in December the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution entitled "The Role of Diamonds in Fueling Conflict: Breaking the Link between the Illicit Transaction of Rough Diamonds and Armed Conflict as a Contribution to Prevention and Settlement of Conflicts." Overall, the movement toward preventing the illicit trade in diamonds is clearly accelerating in the international arena.

Children in Armed Conflict: The Miyazaki Initiatives take note that children are being caught up in armed conflict in many regions of the world, and suffering enormous damage. Therefore, the Initiatives ask the international community to ban the use of child soldiers, to prevent the damages caused during armed conflicts to children and other civilians, and to call for aid to support the reintegration of former child soldiers into the post-conflict society. The necessity of adopting a comprehensive approach to address the issue of children under armed conflict is also gaining international recognition outside the G8. In November, an international symposium entitled "Children and Armed Conflict: Reintegration of Former Child Soldiers in the Post-Conflict Community" was hosted in Tokyo by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other institutions. This symposium issued a final report which presents various proposals for protecting the interests of children under armed conflict.

International Civil Police: The importance of CIVPOL as a critical element of conflict prevention is now becoming widely recognized in conjunction with peacekeeping operations (PKO) activities. As described below, various measures for the security and training of civilian police are now being compiled.*2

There were several international symposia which fostered greater awareness of the need for conflict prevention measures in Tokyo during 2000, such as "The Role of Sub-Regional and Non-Governmental Organizations in Conflict Prevention and Peace Initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa" (March 2000), "The Role of NGOs in Conflict Prevention" (June 2000), and "Outlook for the 21st Century: Toward Comprehensive Conflict Prevention" (June 2000). In terms of actors in conflict prevention, the role of civil society, including NGOs, is being highlighted. Overall, conflict prevention has become one area where Japan should move forward with more concrete measures.

3. Arms Control, Disarmament, and Non-Proliferation

a) Current Conditions and Future Outlook for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

The nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation movement, which was gaining strength during the early 1990s, subsequently weakened following the indefinite extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1995 and the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996. Even though four years have passed since the CTBT was adopted, this treaty has still not entered into force. And, substantive deliberations at the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva remain suspended. Despite these situations, the NPT Review Conference met in April-May 2000 and successfully adopted the Final Document including "practical steps" for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The adoption of this Final Document is extremely significant, as it has shown the future course for the international community's approach toward a world free of nuclear weapons. Throughout the 1990s, the international community also gradually strengthened its approach to regulating biological and chemical weapons as well as conventional weapons, including small arms and anti-personnel landmines, which have become the primary weapons used in the regional conflicts that have increased since the end of the Cold War.

The proliferation of missiles capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction has been progressing in recent years which is evident in the missile activities by North Korea, Iran, India, and Pakistan, underscoring the increasing importance of international endeavors for the non-proliferation of missiles.

b) Nuclear Weapons

• The 2000 NPT Review Conference

  The first meeting of the NPT Review Conference subsequent to the indefinite extension of the NPT took place in New York during April-May 2000. The Conference unanimously adopted the Final Document including "practical steps" for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation such as the early entry into force of the CTBT and the immediate commencement of negotiations in the CD on the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT) with a view to their conclusion within five years. The Final Document also stipulates "an unequivocal undertaking" by the nuclear weapon states to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals, which has made a goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons more realistic. From now on, the international community has to earnestly debate and implement these "practical steps."

  At the NPT Review Conference, Japan, by making an eight-item proposal on future measures for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, provided a foundation toward consensus building, and actively contributed to the Conference's success.

• New UN General Assembly Resolution on Nuclear Disarmament Proposed by Japan: "A Path to the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons"

  Every year from 1994 through 1999, Japan presented to the UN General Assembly a resolution on "Nuclear Disarmament with a View to the Ultimate Elimination of Nuclear Weapons," and acquired overwhelming support from the international community. This concept of "the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons" was highly significant in leading nuclear weapon states to accept the need to eliminate nuclear weapons. Since "an unequivocal undertaking" by the nuclear weapon states to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals was agreed by consensus, including nuclear weapon states, at the 2000 NPT Review Conference, it may be said that the abovementioned concept has completed its mission.

  Accordingly, at the UN Millennium General Assembly, Japan submitted a new resolution entitled "A Path to the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons" to present a concrete path toward realizing a world free of nuclear weapons, and this resolution was adopted by an overwhelming majority of the General Assembly in November. Based on an appropriate balance between nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, this resolution contains bolder measures than those in the Final Document of the 2000 NPT Review Conference. For example, the resolution calls for the entry into force of the CTBT as early as possible before 2003, the immediate commencement of negotiations on the FMCT and their conclusion as early as possible before 2005, the continuation of the U.S.-Russia disarmament process beyond the third Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START III), and further reductions in nuclear weapons toward their complete elimination. Based on this resolution, Japan will continue to reinforce its diplomatic efforts toward the early entry into force of the CTBT and the immediate commencement and early conclusion of the FMCT in order to realize a world free of nuclear weapons as early as possible.

• Toward the Early Entry into Force of the CTBT

  Japan served as the Chair of the Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT held in Vienna in October 1999, and has subsequently worked toward promoting early ratification through various initiatives, including dispatching high-level diplomatic missions to non-ratifiers among the 44 countries whose ratification of the CTBT is required for its entry into force.

  In February 2000, former Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura visited Egypt and Algeria, and State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ichita Yamamoto visited China to urge the early ratification of the CTBT by these countries. Over the course of 2000, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also dispatched missions to Russia, Bangladesh, Colombia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and held high-level consultations with India, Pakistan, Iran, and other countries, all toward urging the ratification of the CTBT.

  During 2000, 18 additional countries ratified the CTBT (including 4 of the 44 whose ratification is required for the CTBT to enter into force). In Ukraine, one of the countries whose ratification is required, the national parliament passed a CTBT ratification bill (procedures for the formal ratification not yet completed as of the end of 2000).

• Negotiations on the FMCT

  In addition to the CTBT, the FMCT is a practical step for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Although the immediate commencement and the early conclusion of negotiations on the FMCT were encouraged at the 2000 NPT Review Conference, such negotiations did not begin at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva due to disagreement among member states regarding nuclear disarmament and prevention of an arms race in outer space.

c) U.S.-Russia Disarmament Negotiations, and the U.S. National Missile Defense (NMD) Program

Russia ratified the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II) in April 2000, but Russia reserved the right to withdraw from this agreement if the United States violates the terms of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. Despite the ratification of the treaty by the U.S. government in January 1996, START II has not yet come into force because the U.S. Congress has not yet ratified the protocol. Both countries agreed to initiate negotiations on START III immediately after START II is ratified.

During 2000, the U.S. and Russia held discussions on the possibility of revisions to the ABM Treaty in conjunction with NMD program,*3 an American program whereby the U.S. would make defensive preparations against limited strategic ballistic missile attacks by nuclear proliferators. Amid these situations, in September, following the failure of the third NMD flight test in July, President Clinton announced that since he was unable to conclude with the information he had at that time that he had enough confidence in the technology and the operational effectiveness of the entire NMD system to move forward to deployment, he had decided not to authorize deployment of NMD at that time and asked the Secretary of Defense to continue a robust program of development and testing.

• Management and Disposition of Russian Surplus Weapon-Grade Plutonium

  The progress in U.S.-Russia nuclear disarmament, including the implementation of the first Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), has resulted in a large volume of surplus plutonium from dismantled nuclear weapons. Because Russia is facing serious economic difficulties and other domestic problems, from the viewpoint of disarmament and non-proliferation, it is particularly important to dispose of the surplus plutonium and prevent the diversion of such fissile materials to military use and otherwise avert nuclear proliferation. At the G8 Non-Proliferation Experts Group (NPEG) and other fora, Japan has called for the coordination of concrete cooperative efforts to address this problem. Regarding plutonium management and disposition based on a detailed project plan, the G8 members agreed at the G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit to develop an international financing plan which explores the potential for both public and private funding, and a multilateral framework to coordinate cooperation among countries including non-G8 members.

d) Biological Weapons

The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) comprehensively prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, and retention of biological weapons, but makes no provisions whatsoever on measures to verify compliance by the state parties. During 2000, negotiations continued on drafting a protocol, including verification measures, by 2001 to ensure a precise response to the global proliferation of biological weapons.

e) Chemical Weapons

Japan ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)*4 in September 1995, and has been faithfully carrying out its obligations under this Convention since its entry into force. For example, chemical weapons of the former Japanese Army which were discovered in Hokkaido and Hiroshima Prefecture were both completely destroyed during the year 2000. Additionally, in September Japan excavated and recovered a total of 897 munitions in Heilongjiang Province, China, in the first project that Japan carried out as a main operational entity in the process of the destruction of the abandoned chemical weapons in China.

f) Missiles as Delivery Vehicles for Weapons of Mass Destruction

The proliferation of missiles capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons poses a serious threat to not only the stability of the Asia-Pacific region but also international peace and security as a whole. In recent years, the trend of the proliferation of missiles has been witnessed worldwide. North Korea's missile launch meant an immense threat to Japan's security. Missile launch tests by India, Pakistan, Iran, and others also took place.

Japan, in cooperation with other countries concerned, has been expressing its concerns to those countries engaging in missile activities that are considered as cause for concern. Japan has also urged those countries on various occasions to exercise self-restraint on missile-related activities.

Under these circumstances, the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which 32 countries including Japan participate in, has been playing an essential role as the sole multilateral framework aimed at missile non-proliferation. At the October 2000 MTCR Plenary Meeting, member states agreed on the text of a Draft International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation. Japan will continue to play an active role in multilateral efforts for eliminating the missile threat, in particular in efforts within MTCR.

g) Conventional Weapons

• Small Arms

  Small arms and light weapons, such as automatic rifles, handguns, machine guns, and portable anti-tank missiles, have become the main weapons actually used in recent conflicts, and have resulted in a great many casualties among combatants and noncombatants alike. Even after conflicts are finished, the excessive and destabilizing accumulation of weapons continues to impede the establishment of public order, and thus hinders post-conflict reconstruction and development efforts. At the UN Millennium General Assembly, the member states agreed to hold the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects in July 2001 in New York. Japan has been manifesting leadership in this field, and will continue to contribute to the preparation process toward the successful outcome of this UN conference. Japan also intends to provide assistance to support the resolution of small arms problems in developing countries. For example, Japan is cooperating with the EU, the United Nations, and other bodies in advancing preparations toward implementing a weapons collection project ("Weapons for Development Program") under a comprehensive approach combining small arms collection with development efforts.*5

• Anti-Personnel Landmines

  Japan has been advocating a "Zero Victims Program" for anti-personnel landmines, recognizing that it is essential to take a comprehensive approach through the two main pillars of realizing a universal and effective ban on anti-personnel landmines and strengthening de-mining and victim assistance, and has been actively working toward achieving the goal of zero victims.

  Japan continues to actively lobby the concerned countries toward ensuring the universality of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (the Ottawa Convention), and is also advancing multilateral efforts toward the early commencement of negotiations on a treaty banning the transfer of anti-personnel landmines, which could garner the participation of countries that are unlikely to sign the Ottawa Convention in the near future.

  As of August 2000, Japan had extended over US$56 million in mine removal and victim assistance.*6 Japan's victim assistance aid is primarily disbursed through international organizations and NGOs, and these funds are supporting the upgrading of facilities and equipment for the manufacture of artificial limbs and for victim rehabilitation.

• Wassenaar Arrangement (WA)

  The Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) was established in July 1996 as an international export control regime for conventional weapons and dual-use goods and technologies to prevent the excessive accumulation of conventional weapons that lead to regional instability. The functions of the WA were completely reviewed in 1999 bringing about greater transparency in arms transfers, an issue which has been pending ever since the establishment of this regime. Additional efforts are now underway to further reinforce the WA's functions, and Japan is positively contributing to these efforts.

• United Nations Register of Conventional Arms

  The United Nations Register of Conventional Arms was established in January 1992 at the initiative of Japan and other countries. Under this system, each year more than 90 states including Japan submit reports to the United Nations on volume of exports and imports in seven categories of the main conventional weapons, such as combat vehicles and tactical aircraft. Japan is playing a major role in the administration of this Register, for example, by urging those countries not yet participating to do so.

4. International Peace Cooperation (UN Peacekeeping Operations (PKO) and Other Activities)

a) Current Situation and Reform toward the Strengthening of UN PKO

After the end of the Cold War, review of the conflict resolution roles of the United Nations has been initiated as the international community has been forced to urgently address more intra-state conflicts than inter-state conflicts. As a result, the mandates of UN PKOs have become more diverse. In response to these changes, the United Nations and bodies outside the United Nations have endeavored to reinforce PKOs with the view to conducting PKOs in a more effective fashion, learning from past experience.

The number of PKO personnel dispatched worldwide roughly doubled from 1999 to 2000, due to the reinforcement of existing PKOs and the establishment of new PKOs. As of the end of December 2000, 15 PKOs are in operation, with about 38,000 personnel dispatched from approximately 90 countries.

To fulfill these more diversified mandates, UN PKOs work in close cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian assistance organizations; international financial institutions, including the World Bank and the IMF; regional organizations, including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); and with NGOs worldwide.

Adding to these efforts toward the strengthening of PKOs, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan established, in March 2000, an experts' panel to comprehensively review all UN peace activities, including PKOs, conflict prevention, and peace-building activities, and to obtain proposals to improve and reinforce these activities. The panel, formally known as the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations was chaired by Lakhdar Brahimi, former Algerian Foreign Minister. In August, the Brahimi Panel submitted to the Secretary-General a report containing comprehensive reform proposals for UN peace operations.

The report points out that as PKO mandates have diversified, PKO activities are now closely linked with peace-building activities, including the reintegration of armed elements into civil society, the establishment of democratic systems, and the upgrading of infrastructure. The report asserts that inter-organ activities by the UN Secretariat and non-UN organizations need to be conducted in an efficient fashion to fulfill these diversified mandates. The report also calls, inter alia, for the strengthening of the United Nations Secretariat's functions, the improvement of logistics support, and the reform of expenditures administration. The report further stresses that the missions of PKOs must be clear and achievable, and that sufficient resources must be provided to achieve these mandates.

Past discussions called for the need to improve PKOs' rapid deployment capacity, and the Brahimi report also takes up this issue. Noting that the existing UN Standby Arrangements do not necessarily make possible prompt dispatch of relevant personnel, the report points out the need to strengthen the Arrangements. The report then recommends, among others, the creation of standby lists of military personnel, civilian experts, and executive staff.

After receipt of the Brahimi report, the Secretary-General submitted to the General Assembly in September an initial plan to implement the Brahimi Panel's recommendations, and in October a Secretary-General report requesting urgent allocations of funds and personnel required to implement these recommendations. The General Assembly discussed the plan and report from October, and agreed upon several items that the United Nations have already started to implement.The safety of PKO personnel adds an important issue to the strengthening of PKOs. PKO personnel lost their lives once again in 2000, in Sierra Leone, East Timor, and other mission areas. The government of Japan has been positively working to ensure the security of PKO personnel. As for the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel (in force since 1999), since Japan was the second country to become a party to the Convention, the government continues to urge other countries, especially the those receiving PKO missions, to ratify the Convention. As of December 2000, only 47 countries have ratified the Convention.

In 2000, UNHCR personnel were killed in West Timor and the Republic of Guinea. While the present Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel applies, in principle, to activities "for the purpose of maintaining or restoring international peace and security," many now argue that the Convention should also provide sufficient protection to personnel engaged in humanitarian and other kinds of international activities. Accordingly, the Secretary-General issued in November a report recommending the drafting of a protocol that would expand the Convention's range of application.

b) Japan's Cooperation

As one of the key members of the international community, Japan provides wide-ranging cooperation for PKO and other peace activities, primarily in conjunction with the United Nations.Since the Law Concerning Cooperation for United Nations Peacekeeping and Other Operations (the International Peace Cooperation Law) came into effect in 1992, Japan has participated in PKOs in Angola, Cambodia, Mozambique, El Salvador, and elsewhere. As part of Japan's comprehensive efforts toward peace and stability in the Middle East, a support unit and staff officers have been dispatched to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) operating on the Golan Heights since 1996.

Furthermore, from November 1999 to February 2000, Japanese Self-Defense Force personnel airlifted UNHCR relief supplies for displaced East Timorese in West Timor (from Surabaya in Indonesia to Kupang (West Timor)). Additionally, in March and April 2000, Japan dispatched 11 polling supervisors to assist the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina in observing municipal elections.

Aside from this personnel cooperation based on the International Peace Cooperation Law, as of the end of December 2000, 11 Japanese were serving as senior staff and civil officials in the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), and another 11 Japanese were serving in the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

5. Terrorism

a) Grave Terrorist Conditions

In recent years, it seemed that the center of world terrorism had shifted from the Middle East to Afghanistan and its environs, but terrorist activities in the Middle East escalated once again during late 2000. From the end of September, there was a sudden increase in terrorist activities by Palestinian extremists along with changes that occurred in the Middle East peace process, and in October a U.S. destroyer was damaged by an explosion in Yemen. In other regions of the globe, an armed group abducted foreign divers in the Philippines in April, attracting worldwide attention. Overall, there were a great number of terrorist events worldwide, including incidents in Sri Lanka, Colombia, India, and Algeria. Japanese were caught up in several of these incidents, including the hijacking of a Japanese fishing vessel in the Solomon Islands in July, the hijacking of a Qatar Airways plane in September, and the hijacking of a domestic Chinese flight that same month.

b) Response of the International Community

The international community is cooperating in efforts to address this escalation of terrorism. At the July G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit, the G8 members renewed their condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and called for all countries to become parties to the 12 international counter-terrorism conventions and to fully comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1267 which demands that the Taliban extradite Usama bin Laden.

At the UN, the Security Council adopted Security Council Resolution 1333, which imposes further sanctions against the Taliban and demands that it extradite Usama bin Laden and close all terrorist training camps under its control. The General Assembly initiated deliberations on drafting a comprehensive convention for the prevention of terrorism in September, and adopted a resolution calling for the elimination of international terrorism in December.

c) Strengthening Japan's Anti-Terrorism Measures

Japan has adopted a policy of resolutely combating terrorism by condemning terrorism in all its forms and making no concessions to terrorists whatsoever, and the government of Japan has been actively advancing cooperation with other nations in accordance with these principles. At the July G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit, Japan summarized the G8's response to the terrorist problem as the Chair.

Based on the lessons learned from the seizure of the Japanese ambassador's residence in Peru and the abduction of Japanese nationals in the Republic of Kyrgyz, to prevent Japanese from becoming caught up in terrorist incidents, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working to reinforce Japan's crisis management system, to strengthen Japan's capabilities to collect and analyze terrorist information, and to provide detailed information to Japanese citizens via travel advisories and warnings (refer to Chapter III, Section 2-A).

d) Japanese Red Army Fugitives

The Japanese government had filed extradition requests for five members of the Japanese Red Army who had been taken into custody in Lebanon. In March, four of these members were deported and subsequently arrested and imprisoned in Japan. The fifth member, Kozo Okamoto, was granted political asylum in Lebanon. In November, Japanese Red Army leader Fusako Shigenobu, who was on the international most-wanted list, was arrested inside Japan. At present, six other Japanese Red Army members who are fugitives on the international most-wanted list still remain at large.

Another fugitive, Yoshimi Tanaka, was extradited by Thailand in June. Tanaka was wanted for involvement in the Yodo-go hijacking incident, and was being held in Thailand on unrelated charges. Five other accomplices to the Yodo-go hijacking still remain at large.

6. Refugees

a) The Refugee Problem

With the continuing frequent outbreaks of hostilities and conflicts caused by ethnic, religious, and other factors in the world, the total number of refugees and internally displaced persons receiving protection and support from the UNHCR and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has reached approximately 26 million. Refugees and internally displaced persons around the world are a serious humanitarian concern, and may also affect the peace and stability of both the regions concerned as well as the entire world.

Japan recognizes humanitarian assistance for refugees and internally displaced persons as an important pillar of its international contribution from the perspective of human security, and actively supports the activities of international organizations, such as the UNHCR. For example, at the request of the UNHCR, Japanese Self-Defense Force personnel airlifted UNHCR relief supplies for displaced East Timorese in West Timor from November 1999 to February 2000.

In addition, the government of Japan extends support to Japanese NGOs engaged in humanitarian assistance, and has expanded and improved its existing support scheme. The government has also formulated various measures to facilitate the faster mobilization of Japanese NGOs in the field, including the joint establishment of "Japan Platform" with the business community and NGOs in August 2000.*7 Moreover, the Regional Centre for Emergency Training in International Humanitarian Response-Asia & Pacific, an UNHCR project funded by the UN Trust Fund for Human Security which was established under Japan's initiative, provides emergency humanitarian relief training for NGOs based in the Asia-Pacific region. The government intends to continue to seek permanent solutions to the problem of refugees, maintaining close cooperation with international organizations and NGOs. Recently, refugee assistance operations have often faced difficulties in staff security, such as the killing of UNHCR staff members in West Timor and the Republic of Guinea in 2000. Accordingly, securing the safety of humanitarian personnel is a crucial issue in terms of providing assistance.

Permanent solutions to the problem of refugees require not only humanitarian assistance but also measures to prevent the outbreak and recurrence of conflicts, a main cause of the displacement of persons. This highlights the necessity of ensuring a smooth transition from emergency humanitarian relief to post-conflict rehabilitation assistance then to full-scale development aid in order to avoid any gap between these phases. Together with other G8 members, Japan made an appeal for addressing the "gap issue" in the G8 Miyazaki Initiatives for Conflict Prevention adopted at the July 2000 G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Miyazaki. Japan is also actively participating in the Brookings Process, which is an international approach to tackle the "gap issue."*8

Among Japanese nationals' contributions to the solution of the problem of refugees, the service of Sadako Ogata in her term of office as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from 1991 to the end of 2000 should be noted. High Commissioner Ogata's term was a decade of great difficulties, with large-scale refugee problems emerging in several regions of the world, including Iraq, Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, and East Timor. Leading 5,000 UNHCR staff members, she demonstrated remarkable leadership, maintained energetic activities throughout her 10 years as UNHCR, and left behind a record of superb achievement that has been widely acclaimed by the international community.

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(*Note)

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