Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Thursday the planned launch of a Japan-led international initiative to improve security in Iraq, amid a proliferation of arms following the liberation of the Middle Eastern country from the Islamic State extremist group.
Abe said in a multilateral meeting in Tokyo attended by his Iraqi counterpart Haider al-Abadi that his country will set up a working group to help local authorities collect weapons that have spread across the country, provide vocational training, and create jobs for former fighters as well as local residents.
Preventing the further spread of automatic rifles and other arms is a major challenge that should be tackled in the war-torn country, according to Japanese government officials.