There are said to be several ten thousand combatants in Afghanistan. Promoting the return to society of these soldiers is extremely important from the point of view of the recovery of public order and economic reconstruction. Talks have just taken place in Afghanistan between the central government and the militant groups, including the establishment of a national army and the treatment of discharged soldiers. Together with the United Nations Assistance Missions in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Japan is playing a leading role in the G8 in the field of the demobilization and reintegration of former soldiers and is putting special effort into the solution of this problem.

Relating to this problem, Japan has proposed the "Register for Peace" concept and has received support from the Afghan transitional administration and related countries. This peace-building program would involve the register of discharged soldiers who express determination to lead peaceful lives and assistance for their return to society, including the promotion of vocational training and employment. At present, in order to materialize this concept, Japan, together with the UNAMA, is considering the contents of specific projects and ways of support.

The problem of landmines in Afghanistan is serious. There are said to be 150 - 300 victims a month. The eradication of landmines is important not only from the humanitarian perspective of the daily lives of people and the return of refugees and displaced persons but also as a premise for Afghanistan's reconstruction and development. Japan sees de-mining as a major pillar of its support and is the largest contributing country in this field, shouldering more than 60% of the cost of all U.N. projects relating to landmines in Afghanistan.

In January of this year, as part of activities to support Afghan refugees, Japan supported the replacement of the landmine removal equipment (trucks, four-wheel-drive vehicles, landmine detectors, etc.) that was destroyed or plundered as a result of the military action in Afghanistan. In addition, support was provided to the landmine removal activities of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan (UNOCHA) and for the supply of artificial limbs and landmine publicity activities by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

In the package announced on October 29, as part of the Ogata Initiative Phase 2, which will be explained later, Japan announced the implementation, together with U.N. organizations and NGOs, of landmine publicity activities to prevent the occurrence of new landmine victims (future prevention), landmine removal activities (present response), and the reconstruction and establishment of rehabilitation centers to support landmine victims (past recovery).

Because of many years of conflict, the urban order in Afghanistan has been destroyed, and the mechanism of maintaining domestic security has ceased to function. The building of an environment in which people can live securely and safely is essential for reconstruction. In August and September Japan dispatched a survey mission to Afghanistan to study the supply of equipment and materials, such as wireless communications equipment and vehicles, for the reconstruction of the civilian police force.

In Afghanistan, many farmers rely for their income on the cultivation of poppies, which provide the materials for heroin and other drugs. Also, the drug business provides a source of revenue for the military cliques that control each region. The drug problem therefore poses a major obstacle to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. The transitional administration has taken a strong stance toward the drug problem, deciding, for example, to ban the cultivation of poppies, but the roots of the problem go extremely deep and are very complex. It is important, therefore, for the international community to come together in tackling the issue.

On the basis of a request from the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP), Japan contributed $500,000 to the project relating to the strengthening of drug control capability in Afghanistan in order to improve the present situation in which Afghanistan's drug control capability is almost nonexistent. The aim of this project is to support organization building in the section of the Afghan government in charge of drug control.

In order to respond to the rapidly increasing need for humanitarian support, Japan has implemented emergency humanitarian support of approximately $92 million since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Most of this support has been in the form of contributions to the activities of U.N. organizations, such as the supply of daily living materials by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Also, Japan has contributed approximately 520 million yen to the emergency humanitarian support initial activities of NGOs under the umbrella of the Japan Platform.

Even when the repatriation of refugees was difficult under Taliban rule, Japan cooperated positively in the Azura program implemented by such international organizations as the UNHCR (1998 - 99). This program involved the acceptance of refugees in reconstructed communities in specified regions with well-established living environments in which refugees could support themselves. It succeeded in the voluntary repatriation of more than 100,000 refugees.

As of 2001, there were 3.5 million refugees in the countries surrounding Afghanistan. Following the end of the civil war, a large number of refugees, far exceeding the expected number of 1.7 million persons, are returning to their country. Meanwhile, as a result of the impact of ethnic conflicts and drought, there are said to be more than one million internally displaced persons. In order to make these people members of a new process of nation building, the ensuring of means of livelihood is necessary. In particular, the expansion of regional support and establishment of an environment to accept large numbers of refugees and displaced persons are urgent issues.

International organizations, such as the UNHCR, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and World Food Program (WFP), are playing a central role in activities in this field. A large number of NGOs are participating, too. At present the focus of support for refugees and displaced persons is shifting from relief projects to resettlement support. Deciding at the individual level whether such a person can return home now, investigating what is necessary for this purpose, and providing the required assistance is an enormous task. Japan will continue to support their activities from now on, too.

With the aim of creating employment for refugees and displaced persons in Afghanistan, Japan in January 2002, together with the United Nations Development Program, formulated the Reconstruction and Employment Afghanistan Program (REAP) targeting Kabul and contributed $3 million to this program. This project involves the restoration of roads and public infrastructure, removal of rubble and remains, and so on. It has been highly praised as the first project implemented in Kabul that was clearly visible to the public and has been widely introduced in the Western media, too. In July there was a request to implement a similar project in Kandahar, which previously was the Taliban's center. This whole region suffered atrocious damage. Japan has contributed a further $3 million to this end. Since support has not been implemented very much in this region, much is expected of this project.

Following her inspection of the actual conditions of refugees and displaced persons on the occasion of her two visits to Afghanistan, Sadako Ogata, the prime minister's special representative, announced regional comprehensive development assistance that offers suggestions and proposals for the direction of Japan's assistance for Afghanistan from now on. Three regions have been selected to receive priority assistance under this program - those regions centering on the regional cities of Kandahar in the south, Jalalabad in the east, and Mazar-i-Sharif in the north. By linking with REAP and other projects, the aims of the program are to search for forms of comprehensive development that lead to regional reconstruction, provide a seamless transition from humanitarian support to recovery and reconstruction assistance, and achieve these targets as quickly as possible. Furthermore, as well as just regional recovery and reconstruction, the program aims to strengthen the capacity of the transitional administration, bolster links between the central government and regional authorities, and promote the independence of communities.

As the first phase, the program puts the spotlight on resettlement assistance for refugees and displaced persons. Through U.N. and other organizations, it is, among other things, supplying equipment and materials for temporary housing, improving water-supply systems, rebuilding agriculture, distributing educational materials for children and teachers, and supplying temporary educational facilities. Through NGOs, it is, among other things, extending assistance for the redevelopment of communities. It is estimated that about 1.5 million people will benefit from this program, which has been steadily implemented since its announcement in July.

As a pillar of the package announced on October 29, Japan announced the Ogata Initiative Phase 2, a program to provide regional comprehensive development assistance on an even larger scale. It is estimated that 3 million people will benefit from this Phase 2, which includes emergency income-creation projects, the distribution of food as payment for labor, the construction of basic infrastructure, the protection of mother-child health, the strengthening of educational implementation capacity, and antilandmine projects in the three priority regions. Through linkage between this program and such projects as the Kabul - Kandahar primary road construction project described below, bilateral assistance from Japan through JICA, the REAP project, and regional development projects scheduled to be implemented by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, Japan hopes that its program will become a model case of comprehensive regional development.

Afghanistan is traditionally an agricultural country, with the main crops being wheat and fruit. The export of dried fruit is an important source of foreign currency. As a result of more than two decades of civil war, however, irrigated farmland and facilities have been neglected, and farming villages have become impoverished. In the southern and southwestern regions centered on Kandahar in particular, agricultural production has suffered serious damage because of the drought over the last three years. From the perspectives of assisting displaced persons, restoring and reconstructing the production sector, and promoting the independence of regional communities, Japan in August and September of this year dispatched a project-formation survey team to Kabul and Kandahar in order to study assistance measures for regional comprehensive development with the focus on agriculture, which is Afghanistan's basic industry. Following the results of this mission, Japan already has decided to implement emergency assistance in the agricultural field in Kandahar and also is making preparations to dispatch agricultural policy advisors and other experts to the ministries of agriculture and livestock farming and irrigation and water resource ministries in Afghanistan. Also, from the perspective of the above-mentioned anti-narcotics measures, Japan, together with the UNDCP and other international organizations, is studying assistance for promoting the cultivation of alternative crops to those that generate drugs.

In the belief that human resources development is the key to nation building, Japan has built the foundations of its development today by devoting its efforts to education since the Meiji Restoration in the late nineteenth century. In this sense, Japan believes that education is the basis of development.

Japan is the largest contributor among donors to the "Back to School" campaign of UNICEF. This national campaign involves the restoration of damaged schools and classrooms, the supply of textbooks and notebooks to pupils, the recruitment of teachers, and the resumption of lessons. As a result of the campaign, 1.5 million children in Afghanistan were able to attend school in March 2002.

Furthermore, Japan extends support for the construction of schools and the emergency restoration of damaged schools. Many smiling faces are seen at the opening ceremonies of schools that have been restored with Japanese assistance, and expressions of gratitude for Japanese aid are heard. In addition, Japan, among other things, distributes educational materials to children and teachers, constructs temporary educational facilities, and implements training for teachers and administrative staff under the above-mentioned Ogata Initiative Phase 1, a comprehensive project of assistance for the resettlement of refugees and displaced persons. Also, Japan is scheduled to expand a program for the dispatch of educational policy advisors and other experts (which is already being implemented, and the term will be extended) and is scheduled to accept trainees in such fields as female education.

In Afghanistan, there are many children who have to squat on the ground to study and still many schools that conduct lessons in three to four shifts a day. There is still an absolute shortage of schools. But the pupils study with sparkling eyes, and their parents are so enthusiastic about education, they even cover textbooks and notebooks with waste paper in order to look after them. Wishing sincerely for an even better tomorrow for Afghanistan, Japan will continue from now on also to put the emphasis on assistance in the educational field.

Medical treatment in Afghanistan is in a serious condition. Medical facilities have been destroyed, and there is a shortage of medical equipment and materials and pharmaceuticals. There is also a shortage of doctors and nurses, and the securing of safe water is difficult. Afghanistan is a priority country in the campaign of UNICEF and the World Health Organization to eradicate polio. In response to a request from the interim administration, Japan in March 2002 implemented grant cooperation of 1.67 billion yen as necessary funds for the purchase of basic medical equipment and materials and pharmaceuticals. Also, one out of four children in Afghanistan die by the age of five, and measures against such infectious diseases as measles and polio, which are a leading cause of death among children, are urgently required. For this purpose, in February of this year Japan implemented grant cooperation of funds for the procurement of the vaccine, syringes, and so on necessary for measles and polio vaccinations under the UNICEF campaign to prevent infectious diseases among children. Japan provided enough vaccine for the vaccination of about eight million children against measles and more than five million children against polio. In addition, Japan has conducted reconstruction work this year on the tuberculosis research institute and hospital in Afghanistan, which was totally destroyed, and the day is approaching when this facility can resume its activities.

At present Japan also is implementing the "Kabul Emergency Water Supply Project" to deploy water-supply trucks in districts of Kabul where water-supply facilities are inadequate and districts with water-resource problems and the "Maintenance of the Equipment of the Mother and Child Health Care Hospital" to supply equipment to mother-child hospitals with the aim of improving the health of women and spreading maternity care. In addition, as part of the above-mentioned Ogata Initiative Phase 2, Japan is scheduled to supply basic medical supplies through the ICRC. By linking this cooperation with such technical cooperation as the dispatch of experts (health and medical policy advisors, etc.), Japan is contributing to the improvement of health and hygiene in Afghanistan.

As a result of many years of war, the economic and social infrastructure in Afghanistan, such as roads, electric power, telecommunications, and water supply, have been destroyed. In the words of President Karzai, it really is starting from zero. From the perspectives of implementing visible assistance and building the foundations for economic activity, the transitional administration has been strongly advocating the importance of primary road construction from the start.

At the U.N. General Assembly in September, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, U.S. President George W. Bush, and Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal jointly issued a statement on the construction of a primary road linking Kabul, Kandahar, and Herat. As the first step in this large-scale project, in the package announced on October 29, Japan decided to implement repair work on the primary road from Kandahar to Kabul. Furthermore, the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, established in the ADB, is being used in the project to restore the main part of the road from Kandahar to Pakistan, which is being implemented by the ADB.