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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, January 29, 2004
Japanese top official maintains Iraq has WMD
A top Japanese government official said Thursday Iraq has weapons of mass destruction (WMD), a claim challenging what a former US top weapons inspector said a day before.
There is no evidence to show the weapons of mass destruction donot exist, "on the contrary, it's very likely they are there," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda at a press conference.
David Kay, who resigned last week as top US arms inspector after six months on the job, said Wednesday he has found no weapons of mass destruction, even though a number of governments, including the United States, believed they existed.
Fukuda questioned the credibility of Kay opinion, saying he was responsible for the inspection, but is not now.
As a staunch supporter of US-led war in Iraq, Japan has promised 5 billions US dollars in aid for Iraqi reconstruction and pledged to waive the majority part of the 4.1-billion-dollar debt. It also is sending troops there as manpower support for US-led occupation.
Source: Xinhua
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