TOKYO, 5 July 2003 — Japan’s all-important lower house of Parliament yesterday passed a controversial bill to send troops to Iraq to help with reconstruction efforts.

If approved by the upper house, which is all but certain, this would mark the first time since World War II that Japanese troops will enter a country where deadly battles are still ongoing, a parliamentary official said.

Although Japanese troops will limit their activities to “non-combat areas” under the bill, they will be able to use force to defend themselves or others with them if attacked and when they have no other option.

The bill, which goes to the upper chamber for debate next week, paves the way for a reconnaissance mission expected by August, followed by a 1,000-strong contingent in October, reports said. The government has revealed no troop numbers nor has a date been set. Japanese forces aim to help resettle refugees, reconstruct facilities, and provide fresh water and supplies. They are banned under the proposed legislation from providing weapons, ammunition and aircraft for combat operations.

“I’m glad it passed the lower house without much confusion,” Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters. But the move was hotly contested by the opposition and criticized by the head of Japan’s bar association for possibly infringing on the post-war constitution, which forbids Japan from using force to settle disputes.

“It is very possible that a bill that allows the Self-Defense Forces to use force is unconstitutional,” said Japan Federation of Bar Associations President Tohru Motobayashi. “Ramming through the legislation without much debate and despite opposition by all the opposition parties can hardly be accepted,” he said in a statement.

Two senior ruling party members boycotted the vote on the bill, which was conducted without a roll-call.

Japan also said yesterday it would send a medical survey team into Iraq starting Tuesday in cooperation with Egypt. The 24-member team, including 14 experts from Japan, will survey needs at hospitals in Baghdad and then head to Najaf and Basra before leaving July 15. In addition, the nation announced it would give $5.6 million in emergency grant aid to the United Nations Development Program to help rebuild the National Dispatch Center of Iraq, a major power plant.