Japan’s defense chief heads for Iraq: report

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s defense chief set off for Iraq on
Friday, Kyodo news agency said, amid expectations Tokyo would
soon announce a decision to keep its troops there beyond the
end of their current mandate on December 14.

Fukushiro Nukaga will meet the 550 Japanese troops who are
on a humanitarian and reconstruction mission to Samawa in
southern Iraq.

The government is expected to extend their mission by a
year, aiming to withdraw the troops by the end of 2006, recent
newspaper reports have said.

Nukaga’s trip comes two weeks ahead of Iraq’s general
election and days before a visit to Tokyo by Iraqi Prime
Minister Ibrahim Jaafari to discuss reconstruction.

“Since an important political process is going on in Iraq,
Japan is considering ways to encourage Iraqi’s in building
their own country,” Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told
reporters when asked about the mission.

The troops’ activities in Iraq are strictly limited by
Japan’s pacifist constitution and recent tasks have included
repairing a school and providing medical training and back-up
at hospitals in Samawa, a spokeswoman for the Defense Agency
said.

She declined to comment on whether Nukaga had departed for
Samawa.

Iraq has repeatedly urged Tokyo to extend its troops’
mission, but opinion polls have shown that the majority of
Japanese voters want to bring the troops home.

The timing of a withdrawal depends partly on Britain and
Australia, who maintain security in southern Iraq. British
Prime Minister Tony Blair has said he would consider a
withdrawal in 2006.

Japan passed a special law to enable it to dispatch its
troops in 2004, a move that cemented the strong relationship
between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President
George W. Bush.

Friday’s visit will be Nukaga’s first to Iraq since he was
appointed in an October cabinet reshuffle.