Japan orders ground troops to withdraw
Prime minister says decision OK'd by allies
TOKYO -- Japan's announcement yesterday that it would immediately start pulling its ground troops from Iraq brought to a close a mission that symbolized the country's push to take a more assertive role in world affairs.
Defense chief Fukushiro Nukaga ordered the withdrawal to begin yesterday and said it would take weeks. Tokyo made clear that the pullout did not signal a break with Washington; Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said the decision was made in consultation with the United States and other allies.
The 600 Japanese troops were sent to Iraq in 2004 on a strictly humanitarian, noncombat mission. They were assigned to a relatively peaceful part of the country and were largely confined to base.
There were no casualties among Japanese soldiers during the mission, but other Japanese citizens in Iraq were targeted by militants demanding the country withdraw its troops. Seven Japanese have been kidnapped in Iraq since the deployment, and two of them were killed.
But Japan has been concerned its troops could be drawn into the fighting in Iraq. So when Britain and Australia announced Monday that they would hand over responsibility for security to Iraqi forces in southern Muthana Province, where the Japanese troops are based, that apparently signaled to Tokyo that it was time to go.
The mission in Iraq was Japan's largest military deployment in the postwar era and the first to a war zone since 1945.
Koizumi, announcing the withdrawal, said the mission in Samawah showed that Tokyo stood ready to fulfill its international obligations, and he pledged further aid to Iraq.
``We played a major role in reconstructing infrastructure and basic living conditions through our activities," he said. ``We won the appreciation and trust of the Iraqi government and its people."
The troops' top tasks were purifying water and repairing schools, but he said soldiers also patched roads and strengthened medical services.
Japan is not completely withdrawing from Iraq. The government will look at expanding air operations in the country to ferry US personnel and medical supplies, officials said.
The US Embassy in Tokyo issued a brief statement saying Washington valued Japan's contribution to Iraqi reconstruction.
