Japan to dispatch destroyer to help US campaign against terrorism
( 2001-09-20 11:01 ) (7 )

A destroyer equipped with the high-tech Aegis combat radar system will be among the military vessels Japan plans to dispatch in support of a US campaign against terrorism, a Defense Agency spokesman said on Thursday.

Ichiro Imaizumi, a spokesman for the Defense Agency, said the number of military vessels and personnel sent from Japan has yet to be decided.

"If realized, this will be the first time" since World War II that Japan's military will be sent to a combat zone, Imaizumi said.

During the Gulf War in early 1990s, Japan came under widespread criticism for contributing only money.

Japan's plans also include sending a military vessel to supply fuel, food and spare parts to US military vessels operating on the open sea, Imaizumi said. It will not carry arms or ammunition, he said.

The Defense Agency's plans came after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced late Wednesday that Tokyo will consider enacting a new law to broaden the self-defense force's responsibility in overseas conflicts.

Koizumi stressed that Japan will not change its pacifist constitution, and that any legal revision will not involve putting Japanese soldiers onto the battlefield.

But he said Japan will extend logistical and medical aid to a coordinated strike by the United States and its allies against the perpetrators of the terror assaults on New York and Washington.