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Japan OKs troops for Iraq after transfer
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-06-18 11:40 Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved a plan for
Japanese troops now in Iraq on a humanitarian mission to remain as part of
a multinational force after an interim government takes control.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's pledge to let the military join other
countries' forces in Iraq has divided the public at home, reflecting unease
about putting Japanese troops in a combat zone more than a half-century after
World War II.
Japanese Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi speaks at a news conference marking the end of
a five-month Parliament session at his official residence in Tokyo June
17, 2004. Koizumi defended his plan to have Japanese troops join other
countries in a multinational force in Iraq, saying they would continue
their humanitarian mission and would not fight
insurgents. [AP] | The Cabinet's decision
would let more than 500 Japanese soldiers continue their reconstruction work in
southern Iraq, where they have been purifying water, rebuilding schools and
providing other humanitarian support, Kyodo News agency said.
It would also mean that hundreds of other military personnel shipping
supplies into Iraq from neighboring countries would remain, the report said.
Japan's Jiji News carried a similar report.
Earlier this month, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution allowing a
multinational force to remain in Iraq until 2006 to provide security after the
transfer of power to an interim Iraqi government on June 30 this year.
Koizumi has been eager to help the U.S.-led coalition and raise Japan's
international profile by authorizing the largest — and most dangerous — overseas
deployment since World War II. He has insisted that Japanese troops will not
fight and will stick to non-combat roles when they become part of the
multinational force in Iraq.
But his decision has drawn criticism from both ruling and opposition
lawmakers, who have protested that Koizumi committed to an extension of the
military's duty without a public debate.
Opposition lawmakers say Japanese soldiers serving in a multinational force
would violate Japan's pacifist constitution because they would no longer operate
under their own command and might be asked to engage in fighting.
Japan's post-war constitution prohibits force to resolve
disputes.
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