Japan to send military officials to Sudan

TOKYO, June 30 (Reuters) - Japan will send military officials to U.N. peacekeeping operations in Sudan, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said on Monday, signalling a push to bolster Tokyo's diplomatic and security role in resource-rich Africa.

Speaking after a meeting in Tokyo with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Fukuda said officials would be sent to the U.N. Mission in Sudan known as UNMIS, which supervises the peacekeeping operation of 10,000 personnel.

The government has yet to decide how many officials would be sent or when, a foreign ministry official said.

"I ... conveyed to the Secretary General Japan's determination as a peace-fostering nation to actively make a comprehensive contribution to the peace and development of the international community," Fukuda told reporters in a joint press conference with Ban.

Ban, in Tokyo before heading to Hokkaido, northern Japan, for a July 7-9 G8 summit, said he welcomed the move.

International experts estimate some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been forced to flee homes in the Sudanese region of Darfur since conflict erupted in early 2003, when rebels took up arms against the central government.

Tokyo is eager to take part in the U.N. operations in Sudan in a bid to back up its ambition to win a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.

Japan's pacifist constitution, however, restricts its participation in military activities overseas and forbids the use of force to settle international disputes.

Japan is also seeking to play a higher-profile role in Africa to catch up with rivals China and India in accessing the region's rich mineral resources, and to show leadership ahead of the G8 summit, where African development will be on the agenda. (Reporting by Chisa Fujioka; Editing by Alex Richardson)