Amid escalating tension over the Iraqi situation, the international community, including Japan, has again pledged contributions toward reconstructing war-torn Afghanistan. The pledges came at the Tokyo Conference on Consolidation of Peace on Feb. 22, attended by officials from 34 countries, including interim Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and from 12 international organizations.
Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said the conference was crucial for continuing the momentum of international aid to Afghanistan and supporting the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration, or DDR, of Afghan troops.
The country's reconstruction became an international challenge after the U.S. military campaign ousted Taliban forces from Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. In January 2002, Japan hosted an international donors' conference for Afghanistan and, with the U.S., played a central role as a major aid provider. In the latest conference, Japan took the initiative in promoting DDR, the interim Afghan government's most important task.