U.N. chief asks Japan to dispatch choppers to peacekeeping missions+

NEW YORK, Sept. 25 Kyodo -
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon called on Japan again Saturday to dispatch
its helicopters for U.N. peacekeeping missions in a meeting with Japanese
Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
On the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meetings in New York, Ban made
the same request he made the previous day to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan,
who also attended the U.N. meetings. The U.N. chief said some operations are
facing difficulties due to a shortage of choppers.
Maehara expressed Japan's gratitude for Ban's efforts to abolish nuclear
weapons and said he would consider the request after he returns to Tokyo later
in the day, according to the official.
In July, Japan gave up plans to send Self-Defense Forces chopper units to a
U.N. mission in Sudan, partly due to logistical difficulties. But an SDF
helicopter unit was sent to flood-hit Pakistan in August to assist disaster
relief operations.
Ban also told Maehara that he has been talking about his experience from his
visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August at various meetings, including
stories he heard from atomic bombing survivors there, the official said.
Ban was the first U.N. chief to attend the peace memorial ceremonies in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which marked the 65th anniversary of the U.S. atomic
bombings in World War II.
The U.N. chief expressed to Maehara his gratitude to Japan. He said the country
has been playing a leading role in nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, as
well as human security, according to the U.N. Office of the Spokesperson for
the Secretary-General.
==Kyodo