Japan May Extend Iraq Troop Mandate
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Japan's defense chief on Sunday said that Japanese troops could remain in Iraq until late 2005, a year longer than their current mandate.
Some 500 Japanese troops are on a humanitarian mission in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah (search). Their mandate expires Dec. 14, and the government hasn't yet decided if the troops will stay.
Asked about a potential pullout, Defense Minister Yoshinori Ono (search) said several factors had to be considered, including whether the troops had fulfilled their mission to help rebuild the country.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Another factor to consider is that a mission by multinational troops expires next December — that could be one cutoff point," Ono said on NHK television.
Ono was referring to a December 2005 deadline set by a United Nations Security Council resolution that included steps to establish a constitutionally based government that would end the mandate of the U.S.-led multinational military force in Iraq.
Many in Japan strongly oppose the country's troop deployment, and the issue has been debated fiercely in parliament in recent days.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fears for the safety of the troops have increased, due in part to recent mortar attacks on the Japanese camp. The government has insisted the area still qualifies as a noncombat zone, meeting legal restrictions authorizing the troop dispatch. The opposition argues that all of Iraq is a war zone.
Japan's constitution bars the use of military force in settling international disputes. It also pledges not to maintain a military, although the government says the nation can possess self-defense forces.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has expressed support for keeping the Japanese troops in Iraq but has said no decision will be made until next month.