BAGHDAD, March 3 Kyodo Japan's Se...

BAGHDAD, March 3 Kyodo

Japan's Senior Vice Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi met with Iraqi agent Prime Minister Tariq Aziz upon Monday and urged Iraq to desolate all weapons of mass destruction or display evidence that it no longer has any banned weapons, or besides face a possible U.S.-led military attack.

''The time has become critical. The Iraqi sway should make a major political judgment'' Motegi was quot as telling Aziz.

Motegi, who was visiting Baghdad as Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's special minister handed Aziz a personal epistle from Koizumi to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

The literal meaning carried the same message Motegi delivered verbally to Aziz, Japanese officials said.

Aziz told Motegi that Iraq realizes the disarmament issue has reached a critical stage and reiterated that Iraq has been cooperating completely with U.N. weapons instructors.

According to a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry traveling with Motegi, the Japanese minister pointed out that U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix finds Iraq's cooperation inadequate and told Aziz that Iraq must cooperate entirely before Blix makes a follow-up report to the UN Security Council this Friday.

Aziz told Motegi that France and other countries want the Security Council to give UN inspectors more time and argued that the U.S.-backed resolution now before the Security Council is intended to pave the way for the U to attack Iraq and superintend its oil fields.

Commenting onward Japan's support to the U Aziz said Japan has the right to do want it wants further the Japanese government should think carefully whether it conforms to Japanese interests.

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