Foreign Ministry officials offered a silent prayer Monday to mark the first anniversary of the assassinations of two Japanese diplomats and an Iraqi driver by unidentified gunmen in northern Iraq.
In a speech at the entrance to the ministry headquarters, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura vowed that Japan would carry out the wishes of Katsuhiko Oku and Masamori Inoue by making utmost efforts to rebuild Iraq.
"The Self-Defense Forces and Foreign Ministry officials are in Samawah and Baghdad working for the people of Iraq," Machimura said. "We will carry out the mission of Ambassador Oku and Secretary Inoue. May their souls rest in peace."
Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda and former Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, currently an adviser to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, also attended.
Oku, Inoue and their driver were shot dead last November in Tikrit while on their way to a conference on Iraq's reconstruction.