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.
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