The Cabinet approved a set of bills Tuesday that would allow Japan to ratify the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, government officials said.

Japan signed the convention in 1998 after the U.N. General Assembly adopted it in 1997.

A House of Representatives panel on antiterrorism measures decided to begin deliberations on the bills today.

The government hopes to have the bills passed in early November, the officials said.

The Koizumi Cabinet also decided to get the ball rolling on signing International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism by having the Diet deliberate on related bills during next year's ordinary session.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has instructed the government to speed up efforts on the pacts following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

The treaty on the suppression of terrorist bombings was enacted May 23. The treaty on stopping terrorist financing, signed by 44 countries and ratified by four, needs 18 additional ratifications to come into force, according to the United Nations.

The first treaty stipulates that it is an offense to unlawfully and intentionally deliver, place, discharge or detonate an explosive or other lethal device in, into or against a place of public use, a state or government facility, a public transportation system or an infrastructure facility.

It calls for each signatory state to make those offenses punishable by appropriate penalties under domestic laws that take into account the grave nature of the offenses.

The bills approved by the government aim to revise seven laws, including those covering the handling of explosives, chemical weapons and nuclear reactors.

Under the proposed measures, a person found guilty of the specific charge of using a biological or poisonous weapon would face an unspecified prison term or a specific term of at least two years or a fine of 10 million yen.

Those found guilty of the specific charge of spreading biological agents or toxins at public places would get up to 10 years in prison or pay a fine up to 5 million yen.

Safeguards sought

The government convened a meeting Tuesday of local officials from across Japan to ask them to intensify antiterrorism efforts, particularly against attacks using biological or chemical weapons, government officials said.

"Terrorism is not an incident taking place far away across the Pacific Ocean, but something that could happen in this country. We hope you will take full measures to protect the people," Akira Shimazu, vice minister for the Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Ministry, told the meeting.

Held in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington and subsequent anthrax attacks in the U.S., the Tokyo meeting was the first such session bringing together officials from all 47 prefectures and 12 major cities.

It was aimed at strengthening antiterrorism cooperation between the national and local governments, and beefing up local counterterrorism capabilities, the officials said.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry asked the participants to ensure that local medical facilities are able to detect outbreaks of anthrax or serious contagious diseases.

The Postal Services Agency told the session that 69 letters and parcels suspected of containing anthrax have been found in Japan as of last Thursday.

Of them, 52 were confirmed not to contain the bacteria, with some found to be pranks using starch or sugar, while the remaining 17 items are still being tested.

The agency said it will install more X-ray equipment at major international mail facilities in Tokyo and Osaka and provide staff handling overseas letters and parcels with protective masks and gloves.

The Defense Agency said Self-Defense Forces units trained to deal with biological and chemical attacks are on standby 24 hours a day and can be mobilized within an hour. It also said legal revisions enacted the previous day by the Diet enabled the SDF to guard U.S. military bases in Japan.

Baker lauds support

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker paid a visit to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda on Tuesday to express "appreciation and gratitude" for the Diet's passage of an antiterrorism bill.

Baker told reporters after the meeting that he and Fukuda discussed ways Japan and the United States can work together in the U.S.-led battle against terrorism.

The Diet on Monday enacted a law to allow the Self-Defense Forces to provide noncombat support to U.S.-led retaliatory strikes for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

Two related bills were also passed.

Baker said the question of whether Japan should dispatch Aegis-equipped destroyers as part of its assistance to the antiterrorism efforts was not among the topics discussed with Fukuda and that it is something Japan should decide for itself.

"The U.S. will not try to tell Japan what to do," Baker said.

Meanwhile, the Defense Agency's antiterrorism task force held a meeting to begin discussing a plan based on the new antiterrorism law.

Defense Agency chief Gen Nakatani instructed agency officials to work quickly to determine the scope, period of dispatch and equipment needed by SDF contingents that will be sent to assist the U.S.

He also ordered the establishment of a liaison and coordination office for a working-level conference to be held between senior U.S. and Japanese security staff Thursday in Tokyo to confirm the support the U.S. needs.

The government has decided to dispatch an SDF force to the Indian Ocean to carry water and fuel supplies for the U.S.-led troops.

The plan is expected to be approved by the Cabinet in mid-November after the Defense Agency and the Foreign Ministry finish designing it.