In his policy speech to the Diet on Monday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi spent a considerable amount of time trying to convince a public that is skeptical about sending Self-Defense Force troops to Iraq to provide humanitarian aid and assist with reconstruction. It is not clear whether he succeeded in his attempt at persuasion. However, one thing is clear: The troop dispatch to Iraq has expanded the SDF's nonmilitary roles abroad.
To begin with, Mr. Koizumi provided obvious reasons for the troop dispatch. Creating a stable and democratic government in Iraq, he said, is of great importance not only to the international community but also to Japan, which depends heavily on Mideast oil. If Iraq were to become a hotbed of terrorism, he warned, the threat of terror would spread around the globe.
Reminding the nation that it had received aid from many countries after World War II, he stressed that Japan should help rebuild war-ravaged Iraq as best it can. "Japan cannot secure its peace and security for itself," he declared. "Our development and prosperity rests on global peace and stability."