Japan ends Iraq troop mission with no shots fired

TOKYO (Reuters) – The last contingent of Japanese ground
troops based in Iraq came home on Tuesday, completing the
military’s riskiest overseas mission since World War Two
without firing a shot or suffering any casualties.

The dispatch was a milestone in Japan’s shift away from a
purely defensive posture toward a bigger international role for
the nation’s military, no member of which has fired a shot in
combat or been killed in an overseas mission since 1945.

About 280 ground troops arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda airport
where they were greeted by General Hajime Masaaki — chief of
staff of the Self-Defense Force, as Japan’s military is known
– and other well-wishers.

“I am pleased that the ground troops completed the
two-and-a-half-year mission in Iraq and could return home
without ever being involved in combat activities,” Chief
Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told a news conference.

“It was tough, but we are proud of the fact that they
carried out their duties and made a big international
contribution, and I want to express my respect and thanks to
the troops,” Abe added.

The deployment of troops for humanitarian and
reconstruction aid won praise from Japan’s close ally, the
United States, but divided Japanese public opinion when it
began in early 2004.

Critics said the mission violated Japan’s pacifist
constitution by sending the soldiers to a de facto war zone.

A newspaper survey this month, however, showed almost 60
percent of Japanese voters now believe Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi was right to send the troops to Iraq.

Although no Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded in
Iraq, 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 by insurgents in Iraq.

The Japanese ground troops had completed their pullout from
the southern Iraqi city of Samawa on July 17, after an
international coalition force transferred security operations
in the region to the Iraqis on July 13.

Some 200 Japanese air force personnel based in Kuwait will
continue their transport activities in Iraq following the
ground troops’ departure, a Defense Agency spokeswoman said.