(14 Nov 2003)
Tokyo, 14 November 2003
1. U.S. government plane taxing at Haneda airport
2. U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld coming down the stairs
3. Cutaway of security
4. Mid shot of airplane
5. Rumsfeld's profile through the car window, pulls out to wide of convoy departing
6. Wide of US embassy
7. US flag
8. Security helicopter
9. Various of Japanese police
10. SOUNDBITE (English): Gregory Clark, Professor of International Affairs, Tama University:
"What has been happening in Iraq but also what has happening in Japan, the situation has changed, not to the advantage of Mr. Koizumi or the United States. And so in this sense, the visit is , perhaps, the chances of success for the American side are somehow less than it was some weeks ago."
File
Saitama Prefecture, 5 October 2003
11. Various of Japanese Self Defense Force troops on parade
Tokyo, 14 November 2003
12. SOUNDBITE (English): Gregory Clark, Professor of International Affairs, Tama University:
"Even if the Japanese do postpone the decision to send troops to Iraq, I'm sure Mr. Rumsfeld is up to some sort of commitment, even if it's delayed. As I say, it's increasingly likely that Japan would decide not to send the troops because if there are any casualties, this will spark an emotional reaction against the government's long term efforts to try legitimize this military by having them engage in a number of actions abroad."
File
Saitama Prefecture, 5 October 2003
13. Various of Japanese Self Defense Force troops on parade
STORYLINE:
U.S. Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld arrived in Japan on Friday as hopes faded for an early dispatch of Japanese Self Defence Forces to Iraq.
After postponing a decision to send troops, Japan's Defense Agency chief said Friday that a military fact-finding team would leave soon for Iraq to assess postwar security.
Media reports said the dispatch could come as early as Saturday in a show of solidarity with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who was arriving in Japan late Friday for a three-day visit with Japanese officials and U.S. troops stationed here.
Defense chief Shigeru Ishiba told reporters the 10-member Japanese team will head to Iraq "at an early date" to assess safety and reconstruction needs in areas where Japanese troops are expected to operate.
Ishiba refused to disclose the dates, duration or itinerary of the trip due to safety concerns.
Asked if Japan had abandoned plans to send troops by the end of this year, Ishiba said the dispatch was a matter of safety, not timing.
He said another consideration was whether Japan's mission could be conducted within the framework of the country's pacifist constitution.
The nationally circulated Yomiuri newspaper said Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi could approve the fact-finding trip as early as Saturday.
Tokyo had hoped to send troops to Iraq by the end of 2003 to help rebuild the country.
But Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Thursday that the country is not secure enough, following the single deadliest attack on coalition forces since the war.
Wednesday's suicide bombing in Nasiriyah killed 32 people, 18 of them Italians. More than 80 people were wounded.
Koizumi has backed the U.S.-led coalition since fighting began in Iraq, and has also offered humanitarian aid money.
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