Japan to Give to Iraq Reconstruction

[Khephra]

TOKYO -- Japan will contribute between $1.5 billion and $2 billion for Iraq's reconstruction in the coming fiscal year and as much as $5 billion over the next four, Japanese media reported Saturday.

Tokyo's reported contribution would foot 10 percent of the reconstruction bill estimated by the World Bank, but it falls short of the $13 billion it chipped in during the 1991 Gulf War.

The contribution could be officially announced as early as Wednesday -- two days before a Friday meeting between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and President Bush, the Asahi newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.

The funds, to be offered as unconditional grants, will go toward health, hygiene, education, employment and ensuring security in the country, the daily said.

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