To rectify Japan's impractical limits on joining U.N. peacekeeping operations (PKO), Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada has called for a review of Japan's five-point principle on PKO participation.
The principle, incorporated in the 1992 PKO law, states that PKO participation should be contingent on: (1) existence of a ceasefire agreement between parties to a conflict, (2) agreement by the parties concerned, including the country where a PKO is carried out, on Japan's participation, (3) the strictly neutral stance of the PKO being carried out, (4) immediate withdrawal if any of these conditions is not met, and (5) the rule that weapons will be used only in self-defense.
As of the end of September, only 39 Japanese people were engaged in PKOs, compared with South Korea's 400 and China's 2,147, though Japan's financial contribution to the U.N. PKO budget is the second largest (19.6 percent) after the United States (25.9 percent). Mr. Okada said the government will study whether the law that includes the principle is hindering Japan's PKO participation or whether it is a case of the Self-Defense Forces and the police being reluctant to participate.