By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Japan's ambassador to the United Nations has been chosen to lead a committee determining whether punitive measures should be leveled against suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Kenzo Oshima was appointed Wednesday, when the UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for possible travel restrictions and the freezing of assets against suspects in an ongoing UN-backed investigation into Hariri's Feb. 14 killing, Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement released Thursday.
The UN investigation team, led by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, released a report last month implicating top Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officials in Hariri's death. While the Lebanese government praised the report, Syria rejected its findings as false, unprofessional and politicized.