Japan set to announce Iraq troop withdrawal

By Linda Sieg

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
is set to announce later on Tuesday a plan to withdraw Japan’s
troops from Iraq, ending the military’s riskiest and most
ambitious international mission since World War Two.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Monday his
forces would take over security from July in the southern
province of Muthanna, where the British oversee a multinational
contingent that includes Japanese troops.

Media reports said the withdrawal of the non-combat troops
would begin as early as this month.

No Japanese soldiers have been killed or wounded in Iraq,
but Koizumi faced a political crisis in 2004 when three
Japanese civilians were taken hostage by insurgents. The three,
as well as two others taken hostage later, were released
unharmed.

In all, six Japanese citizens, including two diplomats,
have been killed insurgents in Iraq.

Japan has said its withdrawal from the southern city of
Samawa would have to be coordinated with the British and
Australian governments, whose troops have been providing
security for the roughly 550 Japanese non-combat troops there.

Japan’s military activities overseas are limited by its
pacifist constitution, although the government has been
stretching those restrictions in recent years.

In Canberra, Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said on
Tuesday that Australia would re-assign its 460 troops
protecting Japanese forces to help the Iraqi military secure
the border with Syria.

“It has the potential to be more dangerous for our
soldiers. We don’t underestimate the risk,” he told reporters.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the Australian
troops would keep “looking after the Japanese until the
Japanese have gone and I expect that to be quite soon.”

In remarks to Australian radio, Howard added: “I expect the
Japanese prime minister to make an announcement about that any
moment now.”

BOOTS ON THE GROUND

Japan’s troop dispatch — a symbol of Tokyo’s willingness
to put “boots on the ground” for its close ally, the United
States — won praise from Washington but was opposed by many at
home.

Japan decided to send ground troops to Iraq in December
2003, and the first major contingent arrived in February 2004.

Since then, they have been engaged in reconstruction work
such as repairing buildings and providing medical training.

Koizumi had stressed the need to back the United States in
Iraq to ensure Washington comes to Japan’s aid in the event of
an attack by its unpredictable neighbor, communist North Korea.

The expected announcement coincides with assessments by
some officials that North Korea may be poised to launch a
missile that some experts say could reach as far as Alaska.

North Korea shocked Japan and the rest of the world in 1998
when it launched a missile, part of which flew over Japan.

After the withdrawal of ground troops, Japan’s air force is
expected to expand its transport activities in Iraq from a base
in neighboring Kuwait.

Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Koizumi gave no
timetable for a withdrawal but said Japan would continue to
provide reconstruction and humanitarian aid to Iraq.

(Additional reporting by James Grubel in CANBERRA)