A team of Japanese soldiers left for Iraq yesterday as police, on the alert for terrorist attacks, tightened security ahead of what may become Japan's riskiest overseas military mission since World War II.
After a series of send-off ceremonies in Tokyo, about 30 members of the Ground Self Defense Force, as Japan's army is called, left for southeastern Iraq, an advance unit of a force that could include up to 1,000 troops.
The dispatch marks a historic shift away from Japan's purely defensive postwar security policy and poses a big political risk for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
"You're the pride of the Japanese people, the pride of the nation. I hope that you will complete your mission safely," Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, at times appearing almost overcome by emotion, told 180 soldiers -- including those leaving yesterday and others to join them later -- in attendance with about 100 relatives and top military brass.
Children's voices sometimes drowned out Ishiba's words. Most family members appeared cheerful, chatting and snapping pictures of the soldiers with their camera-phones before the ceremony.
A few demonstrators passed out leaflets near the defense ministry criticizing the dispatch.
Police vehicles kept them apart from a small group of right-wing activists who were shouting: "Japanese troops, do your best."
Critics say sending the troops violates Japan's pacifist constitution. Opinion polls have shown that the public is largely against sending the troops now and Koizumi's government could face a backlash if there are casualties.
The public was shocked when two Japanese diplomats were gunned down in northern Iraq late last year.
"Public opinion is divided for and against the dispatch to Iraq. But the dispatch is not to take part in war, the use of force, or combat," Koizumi told a meeting of his Liberal Democratic Party.
"Japan cannot ensure its security and peace on its own," he said. "It is not necessary to shed blood, but it is Japan's responsibility as a member of international society to sweat, to cooperate with funds and to make a human contribution."
The troops are expected to arrive in Kuwait today and travel overland later in the month to the city of Samawa in southern Iraq, where they will engage in humanitarian and reconstruction operations, Japanese media said.
The main body of around 600 ground troops will probably set off from late January.
A Russian charter plane also left Hokkaido in northern Japan yesterday for Kuwait carrying eight light armored vehicles.
Security was tight in Tokyo after media reports late last year that al-Qaeda had warned Japan it would attack the heart of the capital as soon as Japanese troops set foot in Iraq.
Police patrols were also stepped up at government offices, nuclear power plants, railway stations and airports, where officers walked around with sniffer dogs.
Also see story:
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
RSS