Japan Plans Extra $5 Billion for Afghanistan

(TOKYO) — Japan said Tuesday it plans to provide up to $5 billion in aid to Afghanistan, effectively replacing its naval refueling mission that supports U.S.-led coalition in the region in a commitment announced days ahead of President Barack Obama's visit.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government, which wants to put Tokyo's ties with Washington on a more equal footing, doesn't plan to extend Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean when it ends in January — while Obama is reviewing his options for a new strategy in the Afghanistan conflict.(See photos of the Afghan police force in training.)

The Foreign Ministry said in a release that up to $5 billion in aid for Afghanistan will be given over five years. The funds are to be used in areas such as building up the police force and on agriculture and other infrastructure projects. In April, Japan had pledged $1 billion in aid to Pakistan.

"It is our hope that the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan, while effectively putting this support from our country to use, will strive for reforms in anti-terrorism and their domestic economies," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano told reporters Tuesday.(See photos of art in Afghanistan.)

The announcement appears to be a way for Japan to show Obama its commitment to U.S. efforts in Afghanistan, even as the two countries wrangle over how to carry out a 2006 agreement to reorganize the 47,000 U.S. troops in Japan under a security pact.

Hatoyama and Obama are scheduled to meet Friday evening, when they are likely to discuss the military realignment plan, climate change and reviving economic growth.

A major sticking point in the military reorganization plan, agreed to in 2006 under the previous Liberal Democratic government that lost August elections to Hatoyama's party, has been the future of U.S. Futenma Marine base in Okinawa.

The plan was to relocate it to a less crowded part of the southern island, but some members of Hatoyama's government want it moved off Japanese territory entirely. Some Okinawan residents have complained the bases cause too much noise and crime.

A procession of high-ranking U.S. officials, including Pentagon chief Robert Gates, have visited Tokyo in recent weeks to press for a quick resolution, but officials from both sides say a resolution of Futenma's future isn't going to happen during Obama's meeting with Hatoyama.

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