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Japan Says Too Early to Decide Iraq Troop Pullout

Posted on: Thursday, 16 February 2006, 00:35 CST

TOKYO -- Japan said on Thursday it had yet to decide when to withdraw its non-combat ground troops from Iraq despite a report that it was discussing with Washington and London its plans to start pulling them out next month.

"We are not in a situation where we can make a decision in advance on the timing of ending the activities of the Self-Defence Forces," top government spokesman Shinzo Abe said, using the term by which Japan refers to its military.

Abe made the remarks after a newspaper report that Japan had entered final stages of talks with the United States and Britain on plans to start pulling out its troops in March and complete the withdrawal by the end of May.

Abe told reporters that Japan would take into account the "political process" and security situation in Iraq as well as activities of British and Australian forces operating there when deciding a timetable for withdrawing its troops.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi later said he would decide the timing of the troop withdrawal "carefully."

"The Self-Defence Forces are not supposed to permanently operate in Iraq, so we have to figure out the withdrawal timing carefully," Kyodo news agency quoted Koizumi as telling reporters.

"They have got high marks from Iraqi residents, and the Iraqi government has repeatedly requested Japan to continue their activities."

Japan, which first approved sending troops to Iraq in 2003, decided in December to keep them there for up to a year from December 14, but government officials had left open the possibility they could be withdrawn sooner.

Koizumi has repeatedly said that Japan would have to carefully consider the situation in Iraq before deciding to pull its troops out, and that coordination with the British and Australian governments is needed to decide the timing.

With their activities strictly limited by Japan's pacifist constitution, the roughly 550 Japanese ground troops based in the southern Iraqi city of Samawa rely heavily on British and Australian forces to maintain security in the area.

Japan's dispatch -- the military's riskiest since World War Two -- has won praise from close ally Washington but is opposed by most Japanese voters.

The Japanese troops are engaged in reconstruction activities such as repairing buildings and providing medical training.

Source: REUTERS

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