Japan 'can show strength via relief'

Japan 'can show strength via relief'

Hiroshi Hiyama, Agence France-Presse/Jakarta/Tokyo

With its money and expertise in disasters, Japan can seize the moment in the tsunami aftermath to show its commitment to the rest of Asia and strengthen its political and economic standing, analysts said on Friday.

Amid concern about whether governments will pull through on their massive pledges, Japan has promised to be a good donor -- and analysts said its money should be geared for maximum visibility in tsunami-hit countries.

"There is no doubt that this is a huge opportunity for Japan," said Kosuke Mizuno, professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Kyoto University.

"With quick, decisive and large relief actions, Japan can gain support of the Asian public and governments," he said.

Japan said on Friday it was ready to send up to 1,000 defense personnel to help victims of the Asian tsunami disaster in what would be its biggest military deployment since World War II if they are all deployed.

"There is a need of transportation. There is a need of medical care. There is a need of prevention of epidemics," Japanese defense chief Yoshinori Ono told a news conference ahead of a tour of disaster-hit countries.

"We are ready to send approximately up to 1,000 people from the Self-Defense Forces," he said, referring to the Japanese military.

At the emergency tsunami summit held in Jakarta on Thursday, Japan began doling out to the United Nations and governments its US$500 million in grants and said it would all be handed over by the end of March.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, speaking just after UN Secretary General Kofi Annan appealed for $977 million, called on other governments to do the same.

He also pledged that Japan would lend its expertize on tsunamis to set up a system to predict massive waves in the Indian Ocean of the type that were so devastating on Dec. 26.

Japan has put on standby 1,000 defense personnel to head to the disaster zone in what would be the officially pacifist country's largest military mission abroad since 1945 if they are all deployed.

Japan has been striving to be seen as more than a financial power, sending troops to Iraq and pushing for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

But its role has been increasingly challenged by a confident China, which has also tried to step up its visibility in the tsunami crisis by promising $83 million in aid.

"By coordinating efforts with the United States, Japan can maximize the impact of its aid, while China has been successful in forging close ties with ASEAN," the Southeast Asian bloc, said Kazuro Umezu, former professor of international politics and Asian studies at Nagoya-Gakuin University.

Before the tsunamis, Japan was by far the biggest donor for worst-hit country Indonesia, giving more than $1.1 billion in aid in 2003 alone.

Japan has proposed an international debt repayment moratorium for the catastrophe-hit countries.

But it has not opted for debt forgiveness, with a Japanese diplomat saying such a move may damage victim nations' credit worthiness for future loans.

Mizuno of the Kyoto University said debt relief could be a powerful symbolic tool.

"Indonesia sees Japanese debt has a serious burden on the nation's finance," Mizuno said. "Japan doesn't have to forgive all of the debt. Debt forgiveness would be seen, at least by the Indonesian government and local opinion leaders, as a gesture of generosity by Japan.

"The decision has to be made quickly if Japan were to make the best impression as an Asian leader," Mizuno said.

But despite the possible geopolitical gains from the huge grants, some Japanese analysts said the tsunami relief might bring a political backlash against Koizumi by a Japanese public.

While it does not compare with the more than 165,000 people killed in the tsunamis, Japan had a disaster-prone 2004 when it was hit by a record 10 typhoons killing 216 people. Another 40 people died and 2,850 others were injured in a powerful earthquake in October.

In an extra budget for the year to March, Japan plans to set aside 1.36 trillion yen, or nearly $13 billion, for domestic disaster relief.

"Japan must do what it can to help the Asian tsunami victims. This is a prime opportunity for Japan to shine as an Asian superpower," said Hidenori Ijiri, political science professor at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.

"But the government must consider Japan's public opinion about victims of natural disasters here," he said.