Pakistan Conflict Monitor

Pakistan-Afghanistan Crucible a Foreign Policy Opportunity for Japan: Report

Afghanistan and Pakistan: Time for the Hatoyama Administration to Show Japan's Latent Power [pdf], Center for Strategic and International Studies, 18 November 2009

EXCERPT: "The challenges of war and state-building in Afghanistan, and their implications for the stability of Pakistan, provide an opportunity for the new government in Tokyo to put its distinctive stamp on foreign policy by charting a progressive path for Japan as an active provider of collective goods of peace and security in a rapidly changing international system. A bold new Japanese initiative on 'AfPak' would advance multiple goals of the new Democratic Party-led government: strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance while putting the allies on more equal footing; putting Japan’s moral and material weight even more firmly on the side of majorities in the region who seek security, good governance, and economic opportunity; and signaling to both Japan’s friends and competitors in the international system that a country wrongly believed to be in a state of terminal decline can renew itself as a civilian great power that punches its full weight and should not be dismissed amid premature euphoria over the inexorable rise of the 'BRICs.'"

Read the full report [pdf].

Related articles:|
Japanese govt to disburse 1 billion dollars to Pakistan, Associated Press of Pakistan, 15 December 2009
Japan, UNDP sign $12 million pact for NWFP, FATA, Daily Times, 11 December 2009
Pakistan-Japan bilateral political consultations, Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 11 December 2009

Related posts:
Japan's aid: New strategy in support of counter-terrorism, 13 November 2009

Japan's Aid: New Strategy in Support of Counter-terrorism

'US Welcomes Japan Pledges on Afghanistan, Pakistan', AFP, 11 November 2009

EXCERPT: "The United States welcomed Wednesday a commitment by Japan to give five billion dollars of aid to Afghanistan and to implement quickly an earlier pledge to Pakistan. Japan's announcement on Tuesday came just ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit to Tokyo on Friday and Saturday. 'As President Obama prepares to travel to Japan this week, he looks forward to renewing our strong alliance with Japan, and discussing our continued partnership on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and critical bilateral issues,' a White House statement said. 'We welcome the announcement by the government of Japan to provide approximately five billion dollars over the next five years to Afghanistan and to implement swiftly its April 2009 pledge of one billion dollars for economic assistance to Pakistan.'"

Read the full story.

Related articles:
US, Japan pledge $2 billion for Pakistan, Thaindian News, 17 April 2009

Related reports:
New strategy to counter the threat of terrorism (Japan's new assistance package to Afghanistan and Pakistan) [pdf], Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, November 2009