Japan Press Weekly

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2008 November 5 - 11 [SDF]

NGO representative testifies: Sending troops increases terror

Tetsu Nakamura, who leads an NGO engaged in medical assistance to Afghanistan, stated, “Military forces cannot eliminate terrorism; they instead promote its growth.”

He made the remark at the meeting of the House of Councilors Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense on November 5.

The Committee invited Nakamura to answer questions concerning the bill to extend one more year the law that allows the Maritime Self-Defense Force to operate in the Indian Ocean.

Nakamura said, “Air strikes that the foreign forces carry out in the name of war on terrorism are contributing to worsening the security situation in the region.”

Stating that Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force deployed to the Indian Ocean is only tarnishing the peaceful image Afghan people previously held about Japan as a country that does not send troops abroad and that it is hindering NGO humanitarian efforts, Nakamura called for a careful discussion of the bill.

Asked about the bill proposed by the Democratic Party of Japan calling for the SDF to be deployed directly to Afghanistan in the name of reconstruction assistance, Nakamura said, “Sending SDF troops will worsen the security situation. It will do more harm than good.”

Chikaraishi Juro from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also answered questions at the Committee meeting. He said, “The Afghan people will think that Japan, which used to focus on assistance to improve people’s well-being, has changed its position to send the military abroad.”