Japan should help to train Iraqi engineers and local administrative officials who will play key roles in rebuilding the nation, according to a Foreign Ministry official who heads Japan's diplomatic office in the southern Iraq city of Samawah.

Water and electricity will continue to be the two basic needs of people in Al-Muthanna Province, where Ground Self-Defense Force troops are deployed, but it is equally important to train regional officials to become self-reliant, Shoji Ogawa said.

During the reign of ousted President Saddam Hussein, "branch offices of the central government had the decision-making power, but local governments did not have such authority," he told The Japan Times while in Tokyo this week.

"Local governments should build up the ability to govern on their own," he said, adding that Tokyo should invite Iraqi engineers and local administrative officials to be trained in Japan.

But he said Iraq's security situation does not allow Japan to provide large-scale yen loans to the war-torn country.

In October 2003, Japan pledged $1.5 billion in grant aid and $3.5 billion in yen loans to Iraq by 2007.

To start the yen-loan projects, Japan needs to send civilian officials to conduct feasibility studies of proposed project sites, he said.

"But the current situation is not safe enough to start yen-loan projects even in Al-Muthanna Province, where security is considered relatively stable," Ogawa said. "Such projects will be difficult unless the situation is stable enough for employees of private-sector companies to enter Iraq."

Ogawa said that while Samawah is not entirely safe, it is safe enough for him and his staff to leave the Samawah office in the SDF camp several times a day if escorted by armed security guards.

Ogawa regularly meets with top local government officials, including Gov. Mohammad Ali-Hassan, to discuss ODA projects, explore the possibility of new projects and gather information on the political situation across Iraq.

He said Japan has already launched smaller projects by using most of the promised $1.5 billion in grant aid.

Ogawa said part of that grant aid has been used to supplement the reconstruction work provided by the GSDF troops in Samawah.

When the GSDF personnel replanted a soccer field, Japanese ODA was used to rebuild the grandstands. When the troops graveled roads, the aid money was used to pave it with asphalt, he said.

He said it is important to educate Iraqis about the importance of choosing their representatives through elections. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for the end of this month, and a general election is expected to be held at the end of this year.

"Most Iraqis who lived through the Hussein era do not understand the importance of elections," he said. "Japan may be able to support the activities of nongovernmental organizations" providing such education for the Iraqis.