The document was presented to an Upper House special committee on Iraq issues. But the government refused to provide English-language versions of the agreements, as requested by governing and opposition party members of the committee.

Opposition lawmakers have said the government might have distorted the official Japanese translation to avoid violating the Constitution.

According to a U.N. resolution on which the multinational force is based, the force will operate "under unified command."

But the government has said that "unified command" of the multinational force actually means a "unified headquarters," which does not necessarily mean that control over the whole multinational force will be integrated.

The document does not specify who exchanged the oral agreements.

The Japan Times Weekly: June 26, 2004
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