TOKYO, 14 March 2004 — Japan prepared yesterday to send its largest contingent of soldiers to date to help rebuild Iraq, a day after Tokyo vowed to stay on guard against terror attacks in wake of bombings in Madrid.
Around 190 ground troops were greeted by families and fellow army personnel waving Japanese flags and banners as they arrived by bus at Chitose air base on the northern island of Hokkaido.
The troops, including 10 women, will depart later in the day on a humanitarian mission that critics say violates Japan’s pacifist constitution.
After training in Kuwait the troops will join around 250 others who are building a base near the town of Samawa in southern Iraq. The latest dispatch comes as Japan steps up efforts to win understanding among people in the Arab world for its riskiest overseas military mission since World War 11.
Japan is to air brief ads on Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television to stress that Japanese troops are being sent to Iraq for humanitarian aid and not for combat.
The latest dispatch comes at a time of renewed jitters in Japan about possible attacks on its soil.
Japan has been on heightened security alert since late last year when the government decided to send troops to Iraq, and concern mounted after media reports said Al-Qaeda had threatened to strike at the heart of Tokyo in retaliation.
