Japan will extend maximum support toward preparation of an international conference on illicit arms trade that the United Nations General Assembly plans to hold in 2001, State Foreign Secretary Keizo Takemi pledged Monday at the start of a Japan-hosted workshop on regulating small arms.
The Tokyo sessions will explore ways to control the production, use and trade of small arms, such as assault rifles. During an opening address, Takemi said the issue of small arms has increasingly become an international concern.
"Small arms, which are being used as primary weapons in regional conflicts, continue to be the source of a large number of casualties, including innocent civilians," he said. "Moreover, the inflow of small arms intensifies and prolongs such conflicts which is the case in Kosovo also."