Japan troop decision to come after Iraq referendum

Japan will decide whether to withdraw its 600 troops from Iraq after the Middle Eastern country’s constitutional referendum and possible follow-up elections, the Foreign Ministry said today.

“We have to take into consideration the political situation after the Iraqi government is established,” a ministry spokeswoman said.

“At this moment there is no final decision.”

Kyodo News agency, citing unnamed government sources, said Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi would likely extend the mission until next summer.

Japanese troops have been in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah since January 2004 on a humanitarian mission to purify water, rebuild schools and other tasks. The mission expires on December 14.

Last month, Iraq asked Japan to extend the mission, but made no requests for a specific number of troops or the duration of an extension. Koizumi said at the time that Japan would make a decision based on the political situation in Iraq, relations with the US and the needs of the international community.

Iraq is preparing for an October 15 nationwide referendum on a new constitution, but a rejection of the charter would mean parliamentary elections in December.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman declined to say what would happen if elections fall after the pullout deadline.

The Iraq deployment, the Japanese military’s largest overseas mission since the Second World War, is deeply unpopular with the public. Many Japanese have criticised the deployment as being a violation of the country’s pacifist constitution and say it has made Japan a target for terrorism.

Japan is also considering withdrawing its warships from the Indian Ocean after their mission supporting US troops in Afghanistan expires.

Japan’s navy has provided fuel for coalition warships in the region since November 2001 as part of Japan’s contribution to the US-led war on terrorism.

“Our refuelling efforts have been highly evaluated by the foreign countries, but there has also been criticism that we’re running a ‘free fuel station,”’ Defence Minister Yoshinori Ono said earlier this week.

Ono did not say who had denounced the refuelling mission. However, Japan’s military dispatches are unpopular with the public, and the opposition Democratic Party has vowed to curtail them if it wins power in Japan’s parliamentary election on Sunday.

Kyodo reported earlier this month that Koizumi has instructed government agencies to reduce the overseas work of the Self-Defence Forces by not extending the special anti-terrorism law allowing the Indian Ocean dispatch.