HAITI: Japanese forces hand over responsibilities to another regiment fresh from Japan

Record ID: 465044

  • Title: HAITI: Japanese forces hand over responsibilities to another regiment fresh from Japan
  • Date: 28th August 2010
  • Summary: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (AUGUST 27, 2010) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF JAPANESE TROOPS ON THE LAST DAY OF THEIR MISSION IN HAITI (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) COLONEL MASASHI FUKUNAGA, SAYING: "We have handed responsibilities over to the 3rd Regiment. Now we leave for Japan. I have a sense of fulfillment of doing my best for the reconstruction, although my ability is limited." VARIOUS OF JAPANESE SOLDIERS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) COLONEL MASASHI FUKUNAGA, SAYING: "I was really impressed with the toughness and brightness of the Haitian people in their struggle against the impact of the earthquake. I feel as though the Japanese should follow their efforts. We tried to support them with all our heart, and then we could feel the impact of our activities on the Haitian people." COLONEL SASAKI TOSHIYA, COMMANDER OF THE INCOMING JAPANESE TROOPS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) COLONEL TOSHIYA SASAKI, SAYING: "We've come from Japan to support Haiti's recovery from the disaster. It will promote not only international cooperation by supporting the stabilization of Haiti, which is now being conducted by the UN, but also international security. Japan has many earthquakes, and we had the experience of being supported by many countries." COMMANDERS OF THE TWO REGIMENTS OFFICIALLY HANDING OVER RESPONSIBILITY (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) COLONEL TOSHIYA SASAKI, SAYING: "Like the 2nd Regiment, we will conduct many operations such as the removal of debris and repairing roads under the command of MINUSTAH. We will conduct disaster relief operations as Japanese contingents have in past peacekeeping missions." VARIOUS OF JAPANESE TROOPS IN FORMATION
  • Embargoed: 12th September 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Haiti
  • Country: Haiti
  • Topics: International Relations,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVA7IESWVB2BZXAGBREN25CJWPA2
  • Story Text: Japanese troops in Haiti as part of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) hand over their responsibilities to another contingent of soldiers.
    A regiment of Japanese troops operating in Haiti as part of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) handed over their responsibilities on Friday (August 27) to another regiment fresh from Japan.
    Japanese troops joined the UN mission in Haiti shortly after a devastating January earthquake.
    Colonel Masashi Fukunaga of the 2nd regiment of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) said that he felt a sense of fulfillment after his tour of duty in Haiti.
    "We have handed responsibilities over to the 3rd Regiment. Now we leave for Japan. I have a sense of fulfillment of doing my best for the reconstruction, although my ability is limited," he said.
    Fukunaga added that he has been impressed by the fortitude of the Haitian people after the earthquake.
    "I was really impressed with the toughness and brightness of the Haitian people in their struggle against the impact of the earthquake. I feel as though the Japanese should follow their efforts. We tried to support them with all our heart, and then we could feel the impact of our activities on the Haitian people," he said.
    Japanese troops have been notable due to their engineering capabilities, especially in terms of removing rubble and repairing Haitian infrastructure.
    Colonel Toshiya Sasaki, the commander of the incoming 3rd Regiment, said that Japan is promoting international cooperation and security by operating in Haiti.
    "We've come from Japan to support Haiti's recovery from the disaster. It will promote not only international cooperation by supporting the stabilization of Haiti, which is now being conducted by the UN, but also international security. Japan has many earthquakes, and we had the experience of being supported by many countries," he said.
    He added that his regiment would undertake similar operations as those undertaken by the outgoing 2nd Regiment.
    "Like the 2nd Regiment, we will conduct many operations such as the removal of debris and repairing roads under the command of MINUSTAH. We will conduct disaster relief operations as Japanese contingents have in past peacekeeping missions," he said.
    Up to 300,000 people were killed after a massive earthquake struck the Caribbean nation on January 12.
    U.N. and Haitian police have recently stepped up joint patrols in the rubble-strewn streets of the capital, where more than 1.5 million people are still living in fragile tent and tarpaulin cities at the peak of the 2010 hurricane season.
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