Japan steps onto world diplomatic stage

Japan’s contribution to world affairs has been criticised many times for being too retracted and isolationist. Such criticism is wrong, because due to the modest nature of the Japanese, the country’s enormous humanitarian contributions to Less Developed Countries goes unnoticed, because Japan never makes a show of its involvement in aid programmes.

Food aid and medical aid, coupled with technical assistance, are areas in which Japan has been actively involved since the Second World War, when American nuclear weapons dropped on civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced the government to cease hostilities, despite the fact that this country was far from being beaten militarily.

The fall of the Japanese military from power after the war gave rise to the more discreet, traditional Japanese customs permeating the country’s foreign affairs in the last half-century. The tone of Japan’s diplomatic involvement has always been low-key, modest and even self-effacing.

Now, however, there is a new vigour as Japan assumes a more open position. The Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister, Makiko Tanaka, is currently visiting Pakistan for talks on the reconstruction of Afghanistan. She has confirmed that Tokyo will donate 300 million USD for the fight against international terrorism.

Timofei BYELO PRAVDA.Ru