Key developments since May 2002: On 8
February 2003, Japan completed destruction of its 1,000,089 stockpiled
antipersonnel mines. In 2002, Japan’s contributed ¥5,499 million
(US$49.4 million) to mine action, which is nearly seven times the level of 2001.
Mine action programs in Afghanistan received almost half of the 2002 funds.
Japan exceeded its five-year pledge, contributing ¥10.34 billion ($91.3
million) to mine action from 1998-2002. Japan has served as co-rapporteur of
the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance since September 2002.
Mine Ban Policy
Japan signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December
1997, ratified on 30 September 1998, and the treaty entered into force on 1
March 1999. Domestic implementation legislation, the Law on the Prohibition of
the Manufacture of Anti-personnel Mines and the Regulation of the Possession of
Anti-personnel Mines, was enacted on 1 March
1999.[1]
Japan stopped manufacturing antipersonnel mines in 1997 and production
facilities were decommissioned by 31 March 1999. Japan has never exported
antipersonnel mines and has not used antipersonnel mines since the establishment
of the Defense Force in 1954. Japan has not reported any incidents involving
Japanese nationals killed or injured by landmines or unexploded ordnance since
1997.
At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties in September 2002, Japan was named
co-rapporteur of the Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Mine Awareness and
Mine Action Technologies. It will become co-chair at the Fifth Meeting in
September 2003. Japan participated in the various Standing Committee meetings
in February and May 2003.
On 28 April 2003, Japan submitted its Article 7 transparency report,
reporting on calendar year 2002, which included use of the Form J to report on
its victim assistance efforts. This was Japan’s fifth Article 7
report.[2] On 22 November 2002,
Japan voted in favor of UN General Assembly Resolution 57/74, promoting
universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.
Japan continues as an active member of the informal “Universalization
Contact Group.” Japan co-sponsored, together with Canada and Australia, a
regional conference on landmines in Bangkok, Thailand in May 2002. Japan is
part of the Bangkok Regional Action Group (BRAG), formed at the Fourth Meeting
of States Parties, with the aim of promoting landmine ban initiatives in the
region in the lead up to the Fifth Meeting of States Parties. Japan, Thailand,
Australia, and other countries in the region sent a joint démarche
calling on non-States Parties in the region to accede to the Mine Ban Treaty at
the earliest opportunity.[3]
During the Donor Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka held
in Tokyo from 8-10 June 2003, Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs stated
in her speech that “Japan hopes that Sri Lanka will accede to the Mine Ban
Convention as soon as possible,” but did not condition the provision of
development assistance funding to treaty accession, as the Japan Campaign to Ban
Landmines (JCBL) had urged.[4]
From 28 to 30 January 2003, the Japan Defense Agency hosted what is called
the Second Subcommittee of the annual Tokyo Defense Forum, for high-level
military personnel from ASEAN countries and representatives from Australia,
Canada, China, European Union, India, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,
Russia, South Korea, and the United States. Session II of the subcommittee
focused on the efforts made toward the ban on antipersonnel mines in the
Asia-Pacific region. The participants agreed on the importance of a
humanitarian response to the landmine problem in the region and emphasized that
regional security should be built through trust-building and dialogue with a
view to achieving a comprehensive ban on antipersonnel
landmines.[5]
In response to the JCBL’s letter concerning Japan’s position on
the issue of joint military operations with non-States Parties that may use
antipersonnel mines, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that under Article 9
of its Constitution Japan cannot deploy armed forces outside of its territory
and cannot participate in any joint military
operations.[6]
At a February 2003 Standing Committee meeting, Japan reiterated its view that
antivehicle mines with antihandling devices that may function as antipersonnel
mines are not covered by the Mine Ban Treaty, and that any issue related to
antivehicle mines should only be dealt with in the Convention on Conventional
Weapons (CCW). It expressed concern that discussion of the issue in the Mine
Ban Treaty would hamper
universalization.[7] At the May
Standing Committee meetings, Japan opposed a proposal of the International
Committee of the Red Cross to do expert work on antivehicle mines with sensitive
fuzes within the Mine Ban Treaty
context.[8]
Japan is a State Party to the CCW and its Amended Protocol II (Landmines).
It attended the Fourth Annual Conference of the States Parties to CCW Amended
Protocol II and submitted its Article 13 annual report on 22 November 2002. It
has participated in the work of the Group of Governmental Experts dealing with
antivehicle mines and with explosive remnants of war. Japan welcomed the
initiative taken by Germany to address humanitarian concerns caused by
antivehicle mines equipped with sensitive fuzes.
Throughout 2002, the JCBL continued to play a central role in monitoring the
government’s implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty. The Association for
Aid and Relief (AAR) Japan organized a flower arrangement exhibition entitled
“Not Mines, but Flowers” to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the
signing of the Mine Ban Treaty, in Ottawa, Canada from 24-25 November
2002.[9] The Chubu Landmine
Problems Support Network, established in December 1998, continued to raise
public awareness by hosting nine public seminars in the central part of Japan
between May 2002 and February
2003.[10] In 2002, the Cambodia
Mines-Remove Campaign organized photograph and cartoon exhibitions and over 40
workshops on the landmine ban, mainly in western
Japan.[11] From May 2002 to
March 2003, Terra Renaissance conducted 53 seminars on landmines throughout
Japan. It also organized a synchronized swimming charity performance to ban
landmines by Japan’s team to the Sydney Olympics, which 3,000 people
attended.[12]
Stockpiling and Destruction
On 8 February 2003, Japan completed the destruction
of its stockpiled antipersonnel mines, in advance of the 1 March 2003 deadline
established by the Mine Ban Treaty. A final lot of 25 Type-80 antipersonnel
mine fuzes was destroyed at Hokkaido NOF Co., Ltd. in Bibai city,
Hokkaido.[13] This last
destruction was held simultaneously with an official ceremony in Shin-Asahi
town, Shiga, approximately 1,200 kilometers southwest of Bibai. The ceremony
was hosted by the government of Japan, and included the presence of Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who spoke about Japan’s continued commitment
to the total ban on antipersonnel mines worldwide. The event received
significant domestic media
coverage.[14]
Following the ceremony, the Association for Aid and Relief Japan and
Shin-Asahi town office held a “Ban Landmines, All-Japan Children’s
Summit,” in which 298 children from all over the country participated
together with two youth mine survivors from Afghanistan. Prime Minister Koizumi
attended the opening ceremony of the Summit, which looked at solutions to the
global landmine crisis.[15] On
14 February 2003, the JCBL held a public seminar in Tokyo to celebrate the
completion of the stockpile destruction, which included representatives from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan Defense Agency (JDA), as well as an
engineer who oversaw the destruction
process.[16]
A total of 1,000,089 stockpiled antipersonnel mines were destroyed in a
process that started on 17 January 2000. Approximately 220,000 mines were
destroyed from January 2000-February 2001, 380,000 were destroyed from March
2001-February 2002, and 380,000 from March 2002 to February
2003.[17]
In fiscal year 2002 (1 April 2002–31 March 2003), the Japan Defense
Agency was allocated ¥831,200,000 (about $7.8 million) to destroy the
remaining 380,049 antipersonnel mines. To do this, Asahi Chemical Industry Co.,
Ltd. was contracted for about $3.72 million and Hokkaido NOF Co., Ltd. for about
$4.05 million.[18]
Mines Retained under Article 3
Japan decided to retain 15,000 antipersonnel mines under Article 3 of the
treaty for training and research purposes, one of the highest numbers of mines
retained by any States Party. Between 1999 and the end of 2002, Japan used
5,387 antipersonnel mines, leaving 9,613 mines in
stock.[19] The government has
told JCBL that these mines are necessary to conduct training on safe mine
detection and mine clearance, as well as to examine the performance of equipment
for mine detection and
clearance.[20]
The US is believed to have a stock of self-destructing antipersonnel mines in
Japan. Japan has said that the US mines are not under Japan’s
jurisdiction or control, thus it has no responsibility to destroy the mines,
require removal of the mines by the US, or to prevent or prohibit the
transportation of the mines by US military
forces.[21]
Mine Action Funding
In 2002, Japan contributed ¥5,499,397,007
(US$49.4 million) to mine
action.[22] That is more than
seven times the level of mine action funding in 2001: ¥764 million ($7.2
million). The 2002 funds were allocated in a similar way to previous years.
Ninety percent of the contribution, ¥4,958 million, went to mine clearance
projects. The remainder was divided among victim assistance, ¥340.7
million (6.2 percent), and mine risk education, ¥143 million (2.6
percent).[23] It is not known
if the funding supported any pro-mine ban advocacy initiatives.
Over half (53 percent) of the contribution, ¥2,926 million, was
allocated through multilateral organizations and 41 percent, ¥2,260.9
million, was allocated bilaterally. The remaining 5.5 percent, ¥312.60
million, was disbursed in support to “grassroots
projects.”[24]
Recipient countries in 2002 were: Afghanistan (48.3 percent), Vietnam (26.4
percent), Cambodia (20.8 percent), Ethiopia/Eritrea (1.1 percent), Thailand (0.8
percent), Sudan (0.8 percent), Laos (0.4 percent), Azerbaijan (0.2 percent), and
others (1 percent). A number of recipients in 2001 were not funded in 2002:
Mozambique, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Lebanon, Croatia, and Angola.
In October 2002, during a visit by Afghanistan’s Minister for Foreign
Affairs, Abdullah Abudullah, Japan announced a new assistance package for the
country of $136 million, including $4.8 million for mine action
activities.[25]
Japan’s Mine Action Funding in 2002 (in millions of
¥)[26]
In January 2003, Japan’s Foreign Minister, Yoriko Kawaguchi, visited
Sri Lanka and concluded an agreement on 6 January 2003 to provide $1.17 million
to mine clearance and reconstruction efforts in the heavily mine-affected Jaffna
peninsula.[28] In April 2003,
Japan announced a $69,000 contribution for mine risk education activities in the
Maheba camp for Angolan refugees in
Zambia.[29]
Total Japanese contributions to mine action in the five-year period from 1998
to 2002 amount to ¥10.34 billion ($91.25 million). This exceeds the
five-year (1998-2003) JPY 10 billion target pledged by former Prime Minister
Keizo Obuchi in December 1997 during the Mine Ban Treaty signing ceremony.
Continued high levels of government support for mine action after 2002
remains uncertain. In March 2003 a Japanese government official stated that
Japan does not intend to establish a long-term plan for mine action
funding.[30]
Annual funding totals during the 1998-2002
period:[31]
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
¥0.9 billion
($7.78 million)
¥1.75 billion
($14.7 million)
¥1.422 billion
($12.2 million)
¥0.764 billion
($7.2 million)
¥5.499 billion
($49.4 million)
The $91.25 million of Japan’s Mine Action Funding for the period
1998-2002 was primarily spent on mine clearance ($74.37 million), followed by
victim assistance ($9.45 million), mine risk education ($3.15 million),
“other” ($2.33 million), and overall policy and planning ($1.95
million). The main country recipients were: Afghanistan ($27.29 million),
Cambodia ($25.45 million), Vietnam ($13.59 million), Bosnia and Herzegovina
($6.22 million), Mozambique ($4.26 million), Serbia and Montenegro/Kosovo ($1.88
million), Ethiopia/Eritrea ($1.06 million), Yemen ($950,000), Thailand
($910,000), and Croatia
($690,000).[32]
Research and Development
At the Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Japan
announced an initiative to develop technology for safe and rapid mine detection
and clearance, with a focus on
Afghanistan.[33] The Ministry
of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) supported a
research program to develop a sensor for a mine detection machine and survey
technology for a remote controlled machine. From 13-18 July 2002, a MEXT study
group conducted a needs assessment for a demining operation in
Afghanistan.[34]
Survivor Assistance and NGO Mine Action Activities
Since December 2001, the Association for Aid and
Relief Japan has provided mine risk education for youth in four districts in
Afghanistan (Kabul, Parwan, Baghram and Kunduz), in cooperation with the HALO
Trust. It also supports four HALO Trust survey teams in the northern provinces
of the country. In August 2002, AAR started a physiotherapy project in Takhar
province for persons with disabilities, including landmine survivors. In
Cambodia, AAR continues to operate the Kien Khleang Vocational Training Center.
It operates another vocational training center for persons with disabilities in
Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). In Laos, AAR has a wheelchair production project at
the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation, in cooperation with JICA. The
“Zero Landmine” project run by AAR and other donors continues to
fund HALO Trust mine clearance programs in Cambodia, Georgia, and Mozambique.
In 2002, the Cambodia Mines-Remove Campaign (CMC) donated five tons of rice
and construction tools to mine-affected Kubalmous village, in Battambang,
Cambodia, following severe flooding. In Mondolbei village in Siem Reap province,
CMC built two new classrooms for a local school and provided stationery and
sports/play equipment. CMC also provided $5,000 to a hospital in Battambang
through an Italian NGO, Emergency, and $10,000 to the Mines Advisory Group.
In Cambodia, the Humanitarian Orthotic/Prosthetic Endeavour (HOPE) continued
its support of an assistance program for persons with disabilities, by providing
prosthetics and orthotics experts to train Cambodian nationals. In 2002, a
similar assistance project by HOPE in Laos was halted because of the downsizing
of its partner NGO’s
activities.[35]
The Japan Alliance for Humanitarian Demining Support (JAHDS), a consortium of
industrial and charity groups, continued its support to projects in Cambodia and
Thailand. In October 2002, JADHS completed a technical adjustment and
operational training program of a radar mine-detecting machine, called
“Mine Eyes,” in Aranya Pratheet, Thailand. In December 2002, JAHDS
started a demining project at Sdok Kok Tom temple near the Cambodian border,
using “Mine Eyes” as one of the demining tools, in collaboration
with TMAC and the Cha Chai
Foundation.[36]
In 2002, the Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines helped the Nepal Campaign to Ban
Landmines publish a mine awareness picture book. In 2001 and 2002, JCBL funded
a research assistant to conduct the Landmine Monitor research on Burma. Between
April and July 2002, JCBL and the Korean Campaign to Ban Landmines jointly held
the “Goal for All Postcard Parallel Campaign” on the occasion of the
Soccer World Cup. Over 1,850 people submitted messages about landmines on
postcards, which were displayed near the World Cup Soccer Stadium in Yokomaha
and exhibited by a number of schools and NGOs. JCBL assisted representatives of
the Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines to attend a Donor Conference on
Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka held in Tokyo from 6-8 June 2003.
In July 2002, the Japan Mine Action Service (JMAS), a group of retired Japan
Self Defence Force members, started UXO clearance operations in Cambodia in
collaboration with CMAC. Two JMAS teams cleared 6,556 UXO, as well as 77
landmines between July 2002 and February 2003. JMAS intends to scale up its UXO
clearance operation and is preparing its first landmine clearance operation in
Cambodia.
In 2002, the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) provided a Japanese
prosthetist/orthotist trainer to the ICRC’s Physical Rehabilitation Center
in Battambang, Cambodia. It also supports an ICRC prosthetic center in
Afghanistan. In 2002, the JRCS contributed CHF1,036,339 to these
efforts.[37]
The Kumamoto Landmine Clearance Campaign (KLCC) was established by a group of
people inspired by landmine amputee Chris Moon. In 2002, KLCC provided
financial support to an Irish NGO, Concern Worldwide, to conduct socio-economic
reintegration projects for landmine survivors in
Cambodia.[38]
In 2002, the Mulindi Japan One Love Project (MJOLP) continued to provide free
prostheses and orthoses and promote the socio-economic reintegration of people
with disabilities in Rwanda. It also has a mobile workshop service to reach
people with disabilities in remote areas of the
country.[39]
In November 2002, the Yokohama YMCA Anti-personnel Land Mine Association
organized its fourth annual charity concert. It also financially assisted
HOPE’s activities in Cambodia and conducted several workshops and photo
exhibitions on landmines in
Japan.[40]
[1] Article 7 Report, Form A, 24 April
2002. [2] Article 7 Report, 24 April
2002 (for calendar year 2001); Article 7 Report, 21 June 2001 (for calendar year
2000); Article 7 Report, 28 April 2000 (for the period 1 April 1999-31 December
1999); Article 7 Report, 27 August 1999 (for the period 1-31 March
1999). [3] Statement by Atchara Suyanan,
Director-General, Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Thailand, to the Standing Committee on the General Status and
Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 3 February
2003. [4] Statement by Ms. Yoriko
Kawaguchi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, at the Tokyo Conference on
Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka, Tokyo, 9 June
2003. [5] Papers distributed by the
Defense Agency at the seminar to celebrate the completion the stockpiled mine
destruction project, Tokyo, 14 February 2003; Japan intervention in Standing
Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 12 May
2003. [6] Written response to JCBL from
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 8 May
2003. [7] Japan’s intervention in
the Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, 7
February 2003 (Landmine Monitor notes). Similar remarks were made to the
Standing Committee on 16 May 2003. [8]
See, ICBL Interventions on Article 2, to the Standing Committee on General
Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 16 May
2003. [9] Email from Yukie Osa,
Director, AAR Japan, 7 March 2003. [10]
Email from Keiji Sirai, Coordinator, Chubu Landmine Problems Support Network, 26
February 2003. [11] Email from Kenji
Otani, Director, Cambodia Mines-Remove Campaign, 13 March
2003. [12] Email from Masaya Onimaru,
Director, Terra Renaissance, 12 March
2003. [13] Ministry of Foreign
Affairs/Japan Defense Agency press kit, 8 February
2003. [14] See Editorial, “Support
urged for land-mine effort,” Yomiuri Shimbum, 9 February 2003; Nao
Shimoyachi, “Adhering to global treaty: Japan says goodbye to last land
mine,” Japan Times, 8 February
2003. [15] Report by Yukie Osa, AAR
Japan, 12 February 2003,
www.icbl.org. [16]
Report emailed to Liz Bernstein, ICBL, by Yasuhiro Kitagawa, JCBL, 24 February
2003. [17] Article 7 Report, Form F, 28
April 2003. [18] Written response to
JCBL from the Weapons and Warships Division, Bureau of Equipment, Japan Defense
Agency, 1 March 2002. [19] Written
response to JCBL from the Weapons and Warships Division, Bureau of Equipment,
Japan Defense Agency, 13 March 2003; Article 7 Report, Form D, 28 April 2003.
The mines include: 1,899 Type 63 mines; 1,926 Type 67 mines; 1,934 Type 80
mines; 613 Type 87A mines; 657 Type 87B mines; 664 Type 87C mines; and 1,920
Type M3 mines. [20] Written response to
JCBL by Arms Control and Disarmament Division, Foreign Policy Bureau, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, 20 September 2001. See previous editions of Landmine
Monitor Report for details on the US mines and Japan’s
position. [21]
Ibid. [22] Written response to JCBL by
Humanitarian Assistance Division, Multilateral Cooperation Department, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, 20 February 2003.
[23] Ibid.
[24]
Ibid. [25] Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Japan, “Japan’s Assistance Package for Afghanistan,” 29
October 2002. [26] Written response to
JCBL by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 20 February 2003.
[27] For aid agreements signed
Jan-March 2002, exchange rate is $1= ¥ 107 (Japanese fiscal year 2001);
for other agreements, exchange rate is $1=¥ 122 (FY 2002).
[28] “Grassroots Grant Aid to Sri
Lanka.” Web of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. [29] “Japan Donates to
Maheba,” The Times of Zambia, 11 April
2003. [30] Statement by Lt. Co. Ryo
Takahashi, Permanent Representative of Japan on Disarmament, to, “Building
a Cooperative Future for Mine Action in South-East Asia” Regional Seminar,
Phnom Penh, 28 March 2003. Before the seminar, the JCBL sent a letter to Prime
Minister Koizumi, urging him to announce Japan’s contribution plan by the
Fifth Meeting of States Parties in September
2003. [31] US dollar amounts are based
on fluctuating exchange rates provided by the Japanese
government. [32] Presentation to the
MASG by Akiko Tejima, New York, 15 May 2003 in Mine Action Support Group,
“Newsletter: June
2003.” [33] Statement by Kuniko
Inoguchi, Head of the Delegation of Japan, to the Fourth Meeting of the States
Parties, Geneva, 16-20 September
2002. [34] The study group exchanged
information with the UN Mine Action Center for Afghanistan, the Transitional
Authority of Afghanistan and NGOs. No research on the social and economic impact
of mine action on mine-affected communities has been undertaken. Letter from
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, in response to
written questions sent by JCBL, 15 April
2003. [35] Emails from Kazuyu Negishi,
HOPE, 3 March 2003 and 19 March
2003. [36] Interview with Akiko Narumi,
JAHDS, Tokyo, 17 March 2003. [37] Email
from Mariko Kimura, International Division, JRCS, 7 March
2003. [38] See website,
http://www.jirai.net. [39]
Telephone interview with Toshio Yoshida, MJOLP, 20 March
2003. [40] Interview with Yoshiko Okado,
representative of ALF Yokohama, 8 March 2003.