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Japanese soldiers get banner-waving send-off to Iraq

The first group of Japanese soldiers to be deployed in a combat zone since 1945 left for Iraq yesterday to serve in a humanitarian mission marking a controversial milestone in Japan's history.

A government Boeing 747 carrying about 90 engineers and medics took off from Chitose airbase on the northernmost main Japanese island of Hokkaido around 2:40pm headed for Kuwait.

The soldiers will spend several days acclimatizing to the desert environment and local culture, before heading to Iraq, a military spokesman said.

All 600 troops of the main Japanese ground units should be in place by the end of March, with logistical support from around 400 airforce and naval personnel in the region.

The departure of the main ground contingent follows the approval of the lower house of parliament last Saturday and comes nine months after US President George W. Bush declared an end to major combat in Iraq.

Japan's ruling coalition, responding to US pressure for participation in efforts to rebuild Iraq, passed a special law last July to allow the dispatch of Japanese troops to Iraq.

Tokyo announced its plan to help provide clean water and reconstruction in the southern Iraqi town of Samawa in December, but the green light was conditional on an advance party of soldiers checking security on the ground.

As they left their base at Higashi Chitose Garrison earlier, the troops were given a banner-waving send-off by families and past and present soldiers.

Shortly before take-off, the unit's commander, Colonel Yasushi Kiyota, 41, told reporters the troops would "carry out our mission for the Iraqi people and make efforts to bring stability to the world."

Despite the humanitarian nature of the mission, the dispatch is controversial as Japan's postwar Constitution outlaws the use of force to settle international disputes.
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