Japan may provide humanitarian aid for a tide of Afghan refugees escaping to Iran in fear of military retaliation for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Tuesday.

"I heard one estimate that an initial 1.5 million refugees have already entered or arrived near the border with Iran," Tanaka said. "We are gathering information to expedite our decisions on specific measures for humanitarian aid."

She said any action by Tokyo will also depend on how the U.S. responds to the refugee situation in Iran.

Japan decided last month to provide Pakistan, another Afghanistan neighbor, with some 1.7 billion yen in emergency assistance to help the country deal with its influx of Afghan refugees.

The money is part of a 4.7 billion yen emergency grant package earmarked to help Pakistan cope with the repercussions of a U.S.-led military strike against suspected terrorist targets in Afghanistan. The remaining 3 billion yen is designated as economic assistance.

A Japanese advance team arrived in Pakistan on Sunday to lay the groundwork for a dispatch of Self-Defense Forces aircraft that will transport relief supplies to Afghan refugees.

Tokyo has begun its preparations to airlift supplies such as tents and blankets, which will then be distributed among refugees via the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

Convention on terrorism to be ratified

The government plans to ratify an international convention on terrorist bombings during the current extraordinary Diet session and to introduce bills to revise relevant domestic laws accordingly, Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama said Tuesday.

The move comes in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.

The International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 1997 to crack down on the use of explosives and other lethal devices in public places.

The Japanese government signed the treaty on April 17, 1998 but has yet to ratify it. Of the 58 signatory nations, 27 have so far ratified the 24-article treaty, which took effect on May 23.

Speaking at Tuesday's regular news conference, Moriyama said, "Since (Japan) has already signed (the treaty), we'd like to ratify it as soon as possible, and intend to do so during the extraordinary Diet session."

To this end, the government will introduce bills to the current Diet session to sort out relevant legislation, she said.

As for the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, which was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in December 1999, Moriyama said the Japanese government will sign the treaty by the end of year.

JCG patrols reactors

The Japan Coast Guard has started patrolling waters near nuclear plants on a round-the-clock basis as part of increased security measures since the recent terrorist attacks in the United States, coast guard officials said.

Coast guard vessels have been patrolling areas near all of the nation's 17 nuclear power plants since Friday.