Japan Weighs $2 Billion in Aid : Gulf crisis: The money would go to nations hit hardest by sanctions on Iraq.

Japan, chided for moving slowly to aid the international campaign against Iraq, is considering giving $2 billion to the three nations hit hardest by the economic sanctions on Iraq, an official said today.

The aid would go to Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, said Hiroyasu Horio, an official with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

News reports said the aid would be extended through the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and that $600 million would be sent as early as this week.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Taizo Watanabe said figures were not decided but that the government is moving to set them quickly.

In another development today, Iraq informed U.S. officials that American males residing in Iraq and Kuwait who were born in Arab countries will be allowed to return to the United States, the State Department said.

Until now, the Iraqis generally had not allowed American males to leave, restricting departures to U.S. women and children.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said he had no estimate on the number of American males who will be eligible to leave under the new rules. There are an estimated 1,700 Americans in Kuwait and 100 in Iraq.

Japan has already promised a $1-billion aid package for multinational peacekeeping forces in Saudi Arabia, including food, water, vehicles and prefabricated housing for non-military uses. But critics in the United States have complained that Japan should do more since its economy depends heavily on oil from the Middle East. Japan imports 99% of its oil.

“I hope that when the total shape of our contribution is clearly shown, this kind of criticism will be greatly reduced,” Watanabe said at a news briefing.

“Some of (the criticisms) are based on a lack of knowledge about what we are doing and some of them are affected by previously held perceptions of Japan.”

Japan’s constitution bans the use of force in settling international disputes, and Japanese law restricts the military to Japanese territory, except for participation in ceremonial occasions overseas.

But Horio said the Trade Ministry is considering chartering foreign airplanes to send provisions “as soon as possible” for the multinational forces, possibly next week.

“The pressure from abroad is getting so strong,” Horio said.

Citing the constitution, Japanese airlines and unions have demanded the government limit items they carry to non-military goods and refused to fly over dangerous areas.

When Japan last week sent a Panamanian ship loaded with 800 vehicles and other equipment for the international peacekeeping effort in the Middle East, its departure was held up for hours by negotiations with a seamen’s union that had refused to enter the troubled region.

Horio said the government plans to send more vehicles, 2,000 trucks and 100 buses for the Gulf forces. But he refused to provide details or the date of departure “to eliminate unnecessary trouble before the departure.”

Kyodo News Service, quoting unnamed sources, said the government is considering sending military personnel overseas by temporarily transferring them to a new “peace cooperation team” to support U.N. activities.

Watanabe said nothing has been decided on that.