Japan's Plan to lend Afghanistan a Hand

Japan is trying to create a Civilian aid, five-year service plan, that will replace the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Antiterrorism Refueling Mission in the Indian Ocean. The estimated $4 billion plan is supposed to help fund vocational training for former Taliban members, development of farmland in war-ravaged areas of the country, and a project to construct a new city north of Kabul. The Japanese government is said to want to have a formal decision on the plan ready before U.S. Presidnt Obama's visit in Tokyo next week. If the plan/package is greenlit, during Obama's visit, Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio would then present Japan's goal of actively supporting Afghanistan. Other plans of support include possible aid for the Afghanistan military. However, many fear that Japan's position in helping Afghanistan is limited due to potential backfire from the U.S. and Europe. This is a problem because, the possibility of the package being viewed as checkbook diplomacy would leave Japan out of favor with two of it's more powerful allies. How this turns out, guess we won't know until later next week after President Obama's trip to Tokyo. For more information on Japan's plan to aid Afghanistan please check out Japan Times Online Article @ http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20091104a1.html
By: Ricky Brown