Posted on 11/30/2003 10:04:33 AM PST by kattracks
Japan vowed it would "never give in" to terrorism after two of its diplomats were shot dead in Iraq, but did not say whether the attack would delay a plan to send troops to the war-torn country.The pair and their Iraqi driver were fatally shot by attackers with small-calibre weapons after they stopped at a food stall Saturday around 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) near Tikrit, US military and Japanese foreign ministry spokesmen said.
The two killed Saturday were councillor Katsuhiko Oku, 45, from the Japanese embassy in Britain and Masamori Inoue, 30, the third secretary with Japan's embassy in Iraq, the ministry confirmed late Sunday.
The Toyota Land Cruiser they were riding in was lightly armored, but they were not accompanied by armed guards, according to Japan's foreign ministry, which specified that the two were first Japanese to die in Iraq since the start of the US-led war on March 20.
"We will never give in to terrorism," Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi told a news conference. "Our basic stance towards positively helping the reconstruction of Iraq will not be shaken."
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters late Sunday he was angry over the killings and added his support for the US-led reconstruction was unwavering.
"Japan has said it will do what it can and what it should do with regards to Iraq's reconstruction, whether it involves Self-Defense Forces, civilians or government employees," he said.
"That basic plan has not changed."
When asked what he would do if Japanese troops, expected to be dispatched this year or early next, suffered casualties, Koizumi replied: "I want to take all measures to ensure that there are no fatalities."
Japan has said it would send troops to help with humanitarian and reconstruction needs to non-combat zones in Iraq, but only when the security situation permits.
The diplomats' deaths cut the number of Japanese embassy-related staff in Iraq to nine, but Japan had no plans at present to close the Baghdad embassy, Kawaguchi said.
The ambush came after repeated threats of attacks against Japan "the moment the first Japanese soldier sets foot in Iraq". The threats were allegedly made by Al-Qaeda spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Ablaj earlier this month.
Despite overwhelming opposition to the dispatch of troops in opinion polls, the cabinet is expected to decide on a basic deployment plan early in December, including the dispatch of several hundred ground troops.
The director general of the Japan Defense Agency, Shigeru Ishiba, said Friday the situation in southern Iraq was "significantly more stable than in other areas" after a reconnaissance mission returned to Tokyo Thursday.
But the opposition and the public were clearly shaken by the incident.
"There is no doubt that people's confidence in safety there has now collapsed," Seiji Maehara, a lawmaker and senior official of the largest opposition grouping, the Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters.
It is too early to decide to send troops to Iraq, said Maehara, who is in charge of the party's security policy. "We will firmly oppose it."
The diplomats' driver was a 54-year-old Iraqi citizen who worked for the embassy in Baghdad, it said, correcting earlier information from the US side that the driver was Lebanese.
The three were attacked on their way to a conference on the reconstruction of northern Iraq in Tikrit, the hometown of toppled leader Saddam Hussein, which has become a hotbed of resistance to the US-led occupation.
Seven Spanish intelligence agents were also killed Saturday in a mortar and grenade attack on their convoy south of Baghdad.
Earlier reports of gunshots at the Japanese embassy in Baghdad early Sunday morning had been retracted, the foreign ministry said.
Nice going, Japan. You can teach our other so-called allies what the word means, and I hope we reward you for it.
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Allied, ping!
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