Japan destroys landmines stockpile Sunday 9 February 2003, 20:05PM Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has announced the destruction of the country's one million landmines and has said he would urge other nations to follow suit. "This is not an end," Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Saturday, after a ceremony marking the end of the three-year project which was carried out in line with an international pact. "We want to spread around the world the movement for abolition of landmines," Koizumi told reporters at an airbase in Shiga, central Japan, after the last batch of 25 mines were detonated. The country's major newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun called on Japan to persuade the United States, Russia, China and India, which have the biggest stockpiles of anti-personnel landmines in the world, and on Pakistan to sign the Ottawa Treaty. Japan and 130 other countries have ratified the 1997 convention against the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of such mines. Japan can still keep about 15,000 mines for research and training as an exception. The Yomiuri editorial said the other countries had cited security as the reason for not joining the treaty. "But Japan went ahead to sign it, taking the risk in such an aspect. Japan should emphasise this point and continue persuading them." There are more than 100 million anti-personnel landmines deployed in more than 60 countries in the world. Nearly 20,000 people a year are injured or killed by mines. "The international trend is moving in the opposite direction from the abolition of landmines," said another major daily, the Asahi Shimbun. It noted a US move to stockpile mines in countries surrounding Iraq ahead of a possible war, as well as the mounting nuclear standoff on the Korean peninsula which is infested with the weapons. ©2003 AFP Brought to you by Printer friendly version Email to a friend