Japan to host conference on Afghan peace in late Nov. in Tokyo+

TOKYO, Sept. 19 Kyodo -
Japan plans to host a high-level working-level meeting in late November in
Tokyo of countries concerned toward realizing peace in Afghanistan, government
and ruling bloc sources said Saturday.

The plan, which is in the final phase of arrangements, may lay the groundwork
for realizing the new Democratic Party of Japan-led government's pledge to pull
out Japan's maritime force from a refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in
January.
Participants, likely including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, the United States
and the European Union, are expected to discuss security measures, economic
support and humanitarian reconstruction support aimed at stabilizing
Afghanistan, according to the sources.
The chairman is likely to be former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, the
2008 Nobel Peace Prize laureate ''for his important efforts, on several
continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international
conflicts,'' they said.
The DPJ has studied the feasibility of hosting such a conference even after it
took power recently and has cooperated on the initiative with a suprapartisan
group of lawmakers including LDP members.
Members of the parliamentarian group plan to tour countries concerned from late
September for final arrangements, they said.
The pillar of the DPJ's Afghan peace proposal is to urge both the Taliban and a
group of countries including the United States to halt fighting and pull out
their forces and instead deploy a noncombat international ceasefire monitoring
mission from countries including Japan.
==Kyodo