Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said yesterday his government will decide on a mission for Japan in postwar Iraq after taking a hard look at reports from a fact-finding delegation expected to leave in a few days.
Japanese lawmakers approved a landmark bill in July authorizing ground troops to help with reconstruction and non-combat support for US-led forces in Iraq, but plans for a dispatch were put on hold amid concern about mounting casualties.
The Japanese leader said yesterday his government was getting ready to send a fact-finding mission to Iraq that would lay the groundwork for a decision on what kind of contribution Japan will make. Media reports have said a team of officials is set to leave on Tuesday.
"As soon as preparations are complete, the government will send a fact-finding team," Koizumi said during a television appearance. "Once we get a grasp of the conditions on the ground, we will know what kind of mission would be appropriate for the Self-Defense Force."
The prime minister cited "humanitarian aid or reconstruction aid" as possible roles for Japan's military, known as the Self-Defense Force. He also implied that nonmilitary personnel might figure into his country's contribution.
Koizumi said his government would make a decision "after setting aside a certain period of time" to study conditions in Iraq. A commitment is widely seen as unlikely until after national elections that Koizumi's conservative party is reportedly planning to call in November.
The prime minister has long advocated more active participation in international peacekeeping by Japan's military, which operates under tight restrictions imposed by its post-World War II pacifist constitution. He pushed through a law authorizing Japanese warships to provide logistical support for US-led forces in Afghanistan.
But polls indicate a majority of voters are wary about sending Japanese personnel into a danger zone. The legislation authorizing the contribution of ground troops limits their activities to "non-combat areas" -- a distinction dismissed as meaningless by critics of the plan.
In an effort to reconcile demands by Washington for help with concerns about deteriorating security on the ground, military planners in Tokyo are reportedly considering an initial contribution of Japanese military transport aircraft, which would fly supply runs to US bases in Iraq from Kuwait or Qatar.
Speaking on a TV forum, Koizumi brushed aside a suggestion that his administration was being pressured to act by US officials.
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