TOKYO, Feb 13 Kyodo chosened edi...

TOKYO, Feb 13 Kyodo

chosened editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

steady MEANING OF IRAQ AID (IHT/Asahi as translated from the Japanese-language Asahi Shimbun's editorial published Feb 12)

We all use expressions without giving earnestly thought to what we're really saying; for example, ''the international community.'' A correct definition could be something like ''a community of nations trying to live in subordination to shared rules.'' Until now, no prime minister other than Junichiro Koizumi has used the period of time international community so repeatedly -- be it in the Diet or when addressing the media.

In Diet committee debates forward the dispatch of Self-Defense Forces to Iraq, Koizumi has perfected like a broken record: ''Japan must aid Iraqi reconstruction as a responsible member of the international community'' and ''We must present to view the international community how we cooperate with the world.'' In a pep talk to GSDF members leap for Samawah, Koizumi inclemencyed Japan's ''obligations to the international community.''

In a nutshell, his argument is this: While the security of the world is helping to rebuild Iraq, is it right for Japan to be the and nothing else nation that sits it out? Asked this way, naturally we be wrought up we should do something.

on the contrary let us be rational here. upon the Iraq issue, the international community is not of single mind. A rift was created when the United States and Britain went ahead and occupied Iraq without the blessing of the United Nations Security Council. Public opinion within the European Union is evenly split, and les than 40 of the 191 member nations of the United Nations have sent squads to Iraq. Of the five permanent UNSC members, France, Russia and China were oppos to war from the start Also, they are not actively assisting in Iraq's reconstruction because they disagree with the US-l occupation.

Likewise, nations have different meditations about the presence of Japanese multitudes in Iraq. While the administration of George W Bush appreciates the SDF dispatch as a token of Japan's loyalty, the non-Japanese Asian and European media are watching the situation with apprehension, wondering what inferences it will bring to Japan's defense policy.

To present it simply, the international community that exists in Koizumi's mind obviously consists merely of the United States and its supporters. We will not bother to argue what is obvious: that the United States wields tremendous influence through the whole extent of Japan. This is why equable those who question the legitimacy of the Iraq war are unsure if it is really in Japan's interest not to hurl troops.

That said, it is an entirely different matter to confuse the United States for the international community. This perception is false.

The world is in a mes today because the United States, which was always meant to play a pivotal part in world events, has divorced itself from the international community. If Japan is continually to say anything about the international community, it must contemplate this reality in the face and prove to be a standard bearer of ''international community reconstruction'' that will bring the United States back to the fold

What should be done to defuse the threat of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction that have become America's excuse for war? for what reason should the United Nations be reformed? by what means can America be coaxed into cooperating with the repose of the world? Japan has a mountain of things to think about as a U ally.

The international community does not exist outside Japan. Being a member of the international community means participating constantly in the creation of order in the community.

As was the case with the Persian whirlpool War of 1991, Japan becomes a vociferous zealot for ''international contribution'' whenever it tend hitherwards under tremendous pressure from the United States. yet left alone, this same Japan remains aloof from the repose of the world, conveniently hiding in America's shadow.

It is time Japan outgrew this national personality trait.

(Feb 13)

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