Today, the use of force was initiated against Iraqby the United States and its cooperating countries. In light of this situation,the Government of Japan has established the "Headquarters" headed by thePrime Minister, and has announced "Action Guidelines" and a set of concrete"Measures" that are to be implemented by the Government in a unified manner,for the foreseeable future. Regarding the economic aspect, to prevent disturbance in economic systems of theworld and our country, including the stable supply of oil, the Government ofJapan will, responding to changing situations, and in cooperation with relevantcountries, take appropriate measures.
2.
Given the above, the Ministry of Finance willcontinue to
(1)
closely monitor the foreign exchange markets and takeappropriate measures as necessary, keeping close cooperation with theauthorities of other countries. We will take decisive action against the rapidmovement in the foreign exchange markets;
(2)
closely communicate with the Bank of Japan so as to fullyensure the provision of ample liquidity in domestic markets.
3.
In addition, the Customs, in close cooperation withrelevant agencies, for the prevention of any terrorism and its relatedactivities in Japan, will further tighten its security control through such waysas intensified clearance examination of goods aiming at the prevention ofsmuggling of items such as firearms and explosives.
4.
In order to fully ensure the above stated measures,we have established the "Liaison Meeting on Iraq and Related Issues" in theMinistry of Finance, headed by the Minister.
