| Japan is ready to write off âthe vast majorityâ of its Iraqi debt if other creditors do the same, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told special US envoy James Baker at a meeting on Monday. A foreign ministry statement released after the hour-long meeting between the two men said Tokyo was prepared to forgive the bulk of debts owed to it by the Iraqi government provided other Paris Club creditor nations followed suit. The Iraqi government owes Tokyo around seven billion dollars, the most out of 19 members of the Paris Club, with the principal accounting for 4.1 billion dollars of it. Details about the scale of the debt reduction will be decided within the Paris Club framework, a diplomat told a news briefing later. |