Japan unwavering in aid commitments despite Western aid cuts

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said on Monday that Tokyo would continue to offer economic assistance to Sri Lanka despite the suspension of some U.S. and British aid this year over alleged human rights abuses related to the ongoing armed conflict in Sri Lanka, wire services reported.

Reuters reported that Fukuda said this when speaking to reporters alongside visiting Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa after the two leaders held talks.

Japan's Kyodo news agency reported yesterday, that Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura told President Rajapaksa that Japan would approve 1.9 billion yen ($17 million) in grants-in-aid to Sri Lanka next week. "I conveyed to the President, Japan's intention to cooperate for peace in Sri Lanka as well as economic development," Fukuda told reporters.

As a member of the Co-Chairs seeking to assist in a negotiated solution to the Sri Lankan conflict, Japan has played an active role in trying to revive the peace process in Sri Lanka.

Japan's Special Envoy to the Sri Lankan Peace Process, Yasushi Akashi, has said earlier that Japan did not view the human rights situation in Sri Lanka the same way as the countries of the West did, and that the main interest of Japan was to assist in bringing about peace in the country.