OTSU, Shiga Pref. -- With the long-expected U.S.-led war in Iraq now a reality, the ongoing World Water Forum began falling apart Thursday.

Some delegates have begun returning home, forcing the cancellation of at least two sessions Thursday and causing those who remain to wonder if the forum, which ends Sunday, will produce anything of substance.

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi, scheduled to chair the final ministerial conference Sunday, announced that she would not be coming. The announcement came two days after reports that Chikage Ogi, minister of land, transport and infrastructure, would be absent from Saturday's conference. The ministries are cohosting the forum.