TOKYO, 24 January 2004 — Members of an advance party of Japanese soldiers returned to Tokyo from southern Iraq yesterday and reported the area stable, clearing the way for Japan’s biggest and riskiest overseas deployment since World War II.
The first of the main body of around 550 troops could leave Japan early next month for the town of Samawa, where they will mainly be engaged in the purification and distribution of water.
Japan’s decision to send troops to help with reconstruction following the US-led war in Iraq has divided domestic public opinion. Critics say the dispatch violates the country’s pacifist constitution.
The advance party of around 30 ground troops has spent almost a week in southern Iraq, preparing the way for the main contingent.
The team told Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba that there were no major security problems, NHK national television reported.
The dispatch order will likely be issued next week, possibly on Monday.
“At present, there are no major security problems,” team leader Col. Masahisa Sato told journalists in Iraq on Thursday.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may attend a dispatch ceremony on Feb. 1 at a military base on the northern island of Hokkaido ahead of the departure of about 80 troops who will be responsible for building the camp near Samawa, Kyodo news agency said yesterday.
Nervous about the security of Japan’s troops, who have not fired a shot in combat or suffered any fatalities overseas since World War II, the government has attempted to keep some aspects of the dispatch under wraps.
But Ishiba expressed little concern over reports earlier yesterday that there had been an explosion at a CD shop in Samawa. Asked about his view of the security situation, he said, “Our understanding has not changed.”
“I don’t know the exact details, because I am not on the ground. But I think this may be something different from anti-American terrorism. It may be a religious matter,” he said.
Apart from security details, Ishiba said he would be interested to hear from the advance party about rapidly rising expectations for Japan’s reconstruction efforts in Samawa.
Local people have expressed hope that Japan will provide jobs for the town’s many unemployed, sparking fears that disappointment could lead to unrest.
“It’s not that we want to reduce expectations, but to say that they will not all be fulfilled at once,” Ishiba said.
