Kan agrees with U.N. chief to work hard for nuclear disarmament+

TOKYO, Aug. 4 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Naoto Kan agreed with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on
Wednesday to work hard toward nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, while
exchanging views on peace and security around the Korean Peninsula.
The meeting in Tokyo came a day before Ban's departure for Nagasaki and
Hiroshima, the first city in the world to be the target of an atomic bomb 65
years ago, where he will attend an annual memorial ceremony on Friday.
''I am very privileged to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki,'' Ban told reporters at
the premier's office after the meeting. ''We must try hard to eliminate totally
all the nuclear weapons on the Earth.''
Ban said he believes a world free of nuclear weapons can be achieved through
strong political leadership and that he will send out ''a strong message'' when
he attends the peace ceremony as the first U.N. head.
Kan told reporters he discussed with Ban issues related to North Korea and
Japan's official development assistance, among others.
Kan said he told Ban that Japan is gravely concerned about North Korea's
nuclear ambitions and the North's past abduction of Japanese nationals.
''The secretary general said these issues are widely recognized by the
international community,'' Kan said. ''At the same time, I also received
suggestions from him that an improvement in Japan's relations with the North
will lead to peace in this region.''
In a meeting with Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa earlier in the day, Ban
requested that Japan consider dispatching helicopters to U.N. peacekeeping
operations around the world, a Japanese official said.
Ban's request, reflecting a chronic shortage of helicopters for the operations,
was made after Tokyo last month gave up on its plan to send Self-Defense Force
chopper units to a U.N. mission in Sudan, partly due to logistical
difficulties.
Ban told Kitazawa that Japan's decision not to send helicopters to Sudan was
regrettable but the United Nations respects a sovereign nation's policy,
according to the official.
The U.N. chief said he understands restrictions for Japan's participation in
U.N. peacekeeping activities under its war-renouncing Constitution but
expressed hope the government would send more SDF units abroad, without
elaborating on which peacekeeping mission requires contributions from Japan,
the official said.
Kitazawa was quoted as telling Ban that Japan is positive about making
contributions to peacekeeping missions abroad, adding it will seriously examine
the possibility of a helicopter dispatch to another U.N. mission.
Japan restricts weapons use for the SDF deployed on U.N. peacekeeping
operations abroad, stating that use of weapons must be kept to the minimum
necessary to protect the lives of those deployed.
Ban also expressed gratitude to Kitazawa for Japan's swift dispatch of SDF
personnel to a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti after the country was hit by
a devastating earthquake in January, the official said.
==Kyodo
2010-08-05 00:07:47