Union Dispute Halts Japan’s Gulf Force Aid

Japan loaded a ship with 800 four-wheel-drive vehicles for the U.S.-led multinational force in the Persian Gulf, but a seamen’s union held up today’s planned departure because of the war danger.

The $11 million in cargo, Japan’s first installment of the $1 billion it has promised in aid for the effort against Iraq, also included an unspecified number of water trucks and air conditioners.

Negotiations between the government and the All Japan Seamen’s Assn. continued into the evening and it was unclear when the ship would set sail from the central port of Nagoya. The union said its members should not be forced to sail into the tense Gulf region.

The Panama-registered Sea Venus, owned by Kawasaki Kisen Co. Ltd., would take about three weeks to get to the Gulf region, the ship’s agent said.

The vehicles are expected to be used by military staff in the multinational forces assembled in Saudi Arabia, said a Foreign Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The shipment is part of the assistance package announced last week by Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu. It is to include 100 medical personnel and chartered civil aircraft and ships that will transport food, water and medical supplies, as well as other non-military goods.

Kaifu has ruled out a direct role for Japan’s military, citing the constitutional prohibition against the use of force in settling international disputes.

The Foreign Ministry official declined to say when further shipments were to be made, but Japan has said prefabricated housing, refrigerators and power generators would likely be sent.