Japan welcomes reelection of Karzai as Afghan president, vows support

0 Comments | Asian Political News, Nov 9, 2009

TOKYO, Nov. 3 Kyodo

Japan welcomes the reelection of Hamid Karzai as Afghan president and will continue to support the war-torn country's reconstruction efforts, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Monday after he was declared the winner of the disputed presidential election.

''We welcome that a new Afghan president has been selected through an election process carried out by the Afghan people who were supported by the international community,'' the ministry's Press Secretary Kazuo Kodama said in a statement.

While expressing hope that Karzai will work ''vigorously'' toward addressing issues related to its nation-building process, the statement also said, ''We will continue to actively support efforts made by the Afghan government and its people for the stabilization and reconstruction of their country.''

Karzai's reelection was finalized Monday by Afghanistan's electoral commission after it decided to cancel a run-off ballot slated for Saturday.