TOKYO, March 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Japan and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) started Monday a two-day conference here focusing on cooperation over global security issues.

    Participants at the second Japan-OSCE security conference include senior officials from member countries of the 55-nation OSCE and the group's cooperation partners such as Afghanistan, Egypt, Japan, Jordan, South Korea and Thailand.

    Representatives of the ASEAN Regional Forum, an Asia-Pacific security forum led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, nongovernmental organizations and academic and research institutions are also taking part.

    The participants will discuss ways for Asia and Europe to cooperate in preventing conflicts with a focus on issues involvingproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the growing threat of terrorist attacks and the smuggling of small arms and drugs, the ministry said.

    Addressing the delegates at the opening cession, Japanese Senior Vice Foreign Minister Masatoshi Abe voiced the hope that countries in the Asia-Pacific region could build up a security mechanism similar to the OSCE and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

    The first Japan-OSCE security conference was held in December, 2000, also in Tokyo. Enditem