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Originally Posted by 90Xjay
And also, what has Japan done as a global partner to help fight terrorism?
Oh yeah, I heard they sent over some I-pods to the troops.
Japan does not participate in fighting terrorism, they don't deserve my support for their products.
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Actually, Japan (next to Britain) is arguably the most significant ally we've had in the war on terror.
2004 the deployed a small contingency of troops to Iraq. It may have been small in size, but it was historical for the country:
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This controversial deployment marked a significant turning point in Japan's history as it represents the first foreign deployment of Japanese troops since the end of World War II, excluding those deployments conducted under United Nations auspices. As Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan prohibits Japan from using military forces, the legality of this intervention is contested domestically.
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This was very controversial yet despite this very important part of Japanese culture, they felt 911 was important enough to deploy troops. The first such action since WW2. And by the way, this was at the request of the US, and they complied.
It was the end of an era for the country whose policy was to not get involved in war. And they broke such policy at our request. I'd say that's pretty significant.
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Japan has pledged $5 billion in total aid - $1.5 billion in grants-in-aid, with the rest being soft loans - for postwar Iraq, the largest amount committed by any single nation, bar the US. The $1.5 billion portion has already been disbursed, and the $3.5 billion soft loan is to be fully allocated by the end of 2007. Japan, the world's second-largest donor of official development assistance (ODA) after the US, is also considering becoming actively involved in an international project to create a new framework for Iraq's reconstruction.
However, Japan's eagerness to pour money into Iraq, the oil-and-gas sector in particular, has not been matched by other donors, much to Washington's annoyance.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/HG26Dh01.html
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Meaning, they are contributing more than anyone else.
From the Whitehouse website:
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One man who believed in our cause was a Japanese diplomat named Katsuhiko Oku. He worked for the Coalition Provision Authority in Iraq. Mr. Oku was killed when his car was ambushed. In his diary he described his pride in the cause he had joined. "The free people of Iraq," he wrote, "are now making steady progress in reconstructing their country -- while also fighting against the threat of terrorism. We must join hands with the Iraqi people in their effort to prevent Iraq from falling into the hands of terrorists." This good, decent man concluded, "This is also our fight to defend freedom."
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/relea...0040319-3.html
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Japan has been one of the staunchest supporters of the United States, its closest ally, in its war on Iraq. Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, tested the limits of Japan's pacifist Constitution by dispatching ground and air troops to Iraq on an aid mission.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/24/D8MRJUS00.html
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Japan’s ruling party agreed April 18 to extend for six months a groundbreaking mission providing logistical support in the Indian Ocean to U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan.
The Liberal Democratic Party backed the extension from the current deadline of May 1, setting the stage for the government to give the final green light later this month.
Japanese supply ships have been refueling naval vessels from the United States, Britain and eight other countries in the Indian Ocean.
Japan began the “anti-terrorism” mission in the Indian Ocean in December 2001 in the wake of the attacks on September 11 that year in the United States.
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1708079&C=navwar
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The JDS Tokiwa supply ship refueling the destroyer Sawagiri
Between 2001 and mid-2005, according to the Asahi, forty seven MSDF ships have participated in thirteen rotations on station. By October 2005 MSDF supply ships had supplied 552 ships in the multinational force, dispensing fuel worth 155 hundred million yen.
Sorry to hijack, but I couldn't let the implication that Japan does nothing to help with the war on terror go by.