Japan will host an international conference of Group of Eight nations and Afghan leaders in mid-February to help strife-torn Afghanistan promote security in outlying areas, Afghan government and diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
The sources said the Japanese government has asked the Afghan government if President Hamid Karzai can travel to Tokyo for the demobilization conference.
The meeting is expected to focus on a Japanese proposal to set up a demobilization registration agency in Afghanistan to demobilize soldiers controlled by Afghan warlords and help them return to civilian life.
Japan, the United Nations and Afghan leaders have been discussing the plan since May, when Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi proposed the idea to Karzai during a visit to Afghanistan.