DISARMAMENT-JAPAN: Approval of Landmine Pact Earns Praise

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Sep 30 1998 (IPS) - Japan’s ratification of a treaty banning land mines is being hailed here as a show of independent policymaking as against the United States, and a bold step given tensions on the Korean peninsula.

The ratification came in a unanimous vote by the Diet or Parliament Tuesday, after nine months of debates shaped not least by the fact that the United States, Japan’s main security ally, was opposed to the anti-mine ban.

Throughout the world campaign to get an anti-mine treaty in place, Washington said it needed to have landmines at hand in hotspots like the Korean peninsula and in its overseas bases, including in Japan.

That put Japan in a spot, pitting anti-land mine campaigners versus the defense establishment.

But with its ratification of the anti-mine pact, Japan adds its voice to the 40 or so countries that have already ratified the treaty, which will enter into force on Mar 1, 1999.

Anti-mine activists are savouring their victory in helping lobby for ratification.

“It’s a major step forward in the fight to erase the world from landmines that has caused so many deaths and injuries to people,” said Yuri Osa, head of the Association to Aid Refugees (AAR), a non-governmental organisation at the forefront of the anti-mine campaign in Japan.

She says the ban on mines came despite growing calls by top- level politicians and defense officials for a “stronger” Japanese defense system in the wake of North Korea’s testing of a missile that flew over the country’s territory this month.

“The government’s decision is critical against the current tense atmosphere and Japan’s leaning toward boosting its defense capabilities,” Osa explained.

Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, foreign minister at the time, signed the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction in Ottawa in December.

But the Diet’s ratification was delayed until this month as the government debated the issue of accepting landmines deployed in U.S. bases while going ahead with the anti-mine pact.

“This was the stumbling block for Japan, which is dependent on the United States for its security. It is a very sensitive issue for the government, which has to take care not to upset Washington,” explained Osamu Yamamoto, AAR programme officer.

A major consideration was how Japan, after ratification of the agreement, would deal with the issue of transporting land mines between U.S. bases on its territory — a task usually carried out by Japanese private firms and the nation’s Self Defense Forces (SDF).

“The government understands the U.S. position on securing the right to use anti-personnel land mines when emergencies arise on the Korean peninsula,” Obuchi said.

U.S. forces are reported to store mines in ammunition depots in three prefectures in Japan. According to Keiko Iizuka of the Yomuiri Shimbun, Japan’s largest daily, Washington claims U.S. bases are not on Japanese territory and therefore Japan cannot do anything about these mines despite signing the treaty.

As expected by grassroots organisations, the Diet did not spell out how the government would deal with this matter.

“The government is mum on the obvious need to outline which Japanese companies or organisations will be dealing with land mines in U.S. bases, an issue that becomes crucial from now on,” Yamamoto said.

“We are worried because the SDF has not been mentioned as being part of the ban and have to keep a close watch,” he added. The government also has not said how it plans to get rid of its stockpile of land mines.

The Diet spelled out stiff penalties for Japanese involved with the production, sale or carrying of land mines. Culprits face a minimum prison sentence of seven years and/or a fine of some 25,000 U.S. dollars.

The Association to Aid Refugees says Japan has about a million anti-personnel land mines stockpiled. The stockpile was deemed necessary by defense experts, who say land mines are important to deter any enemy trying to enter Japanese territory.

But this argument has lost steam with public opinion backing a ban on mines. Opposition even from some conservative politicians gave way in the wake of huge Japanese support for the non- governmental International Campaign to Ban Landmines, led by Nobel laureate Jody Williams.

A lobbying effort by the Japan Campaign to Ban Land mines, an NGO that was formed three years ago and was working with Williams, collected more than 2 million signatures this year alone.

“This is a clear illustration of the success of public awareness,” explained Toshihiro Shimizu, head of the Japan Campaign to Ban Land Mines. Ishikawa Seisaku Jyo, the only company that produces land mines here, has also not campaigned against Japan’s ratification of the anti-mine pact.

Meantime, Japanese activists say they will keep working to get land mines out of U.S. bases in Japan. A November conference will focus on the case of Japan and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries hosting American bases.

“Since the issue is so difficult, we have to take one step at a time,” explained Osa. Public opinion needs to be worked on, he added, also because there are those who believe Japan should beef up defenses in view of instability that may be caused by North Korea. “The North Korean threat is taken seriously in Japan,” Osa said.

NGOs also want Japan to pressure Asian countries like China, a leading supplier of land mines, into entering the ban.

They are asking Tokyo to increase technical and humanitarian relief to land mine victims. In December, Japan pledged 10 billion yen (75 million dollars) over a period of five years for victims. Japanese mine-sweeping vessels, among the best in the world, are also used in clearing mines.