Lower house approves treaty to outlaw cluster bombs+

TOKYO, May 12 Kyodo -
The House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously endorsed Japan's signing of
an international treaty to ban the use and stockpiling of cluster bombs, which
are criticized for causing numerous civilian casualties.

With the opposition-controlled House of Councillors also set to give its
approval, Japan is certain to ratify the treaty during the ongoing Diet
session, now scheduled to run through June 3.
Japan's top government spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura,
expressed hopes for early Diet approval, telling a press conference in the
afternoon, ''I think it is important for Japan to clarify its position on these
global problems.''
The government has already budgeted about 200 million yen for the current
fiscal year to look into ways to dispose of the cluster bombs Japan's air and
ground defense forces maintain in their arsenals.
The pact will enter into force six months after the 30th state has submitted
its instrument of ratification. So far, seven countries have ratified the
treaty, according to the Foreign Ministry.
''From now on, it is important to step up efforts to urge countries that have
yet to sign or conclude the treaty to do so,'' Foreign Minister Hirofumi
Nakasone said before the lower house's approval.
Cluster bombs are air-dropped or ground-launched munitions that eject a number
of small bomblets to kill enemy personnel or disable armored vehicles.
Humanitarian groups have criticized their use because civilians have fallen
victim to their duds long after conflicts ended.
In response to growing international calls for banning the weapons, Japan
joined about 100 other countries in signing the Convention on Cluster Munitions
in Oslo, Norway, in December last year.
Once the pact takes effect, signatories are required to stop using cluster
bombs immediately and to dispose of their stockpiles in eight years.
Despite Tokyo's embrace of the treaty, defense officials have been concerned
that the ban would lead to a drop in the country's ability to deter an
invasion.
To allay such concerns, the government has allocated 6 billion yen to acquire
precision-guided, single-warhead weapons for the Self-Defense Forces so that
the munitions can partially make up for the disuse of the cluster bombs.
The government has also submitted to the Diet legislation to ban the use and
production of cluster bombs. The legislation is expected to be enacted into law
by the end of the current parliamentary session.
Cluster bombs have been used in numerous wars, including World War II and the
Vietnam War, and were used as recently as in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
==Kyodo