Topic: Japan to extend mission in Iraq

Team Infidel

Japan to extend mission in Iraq, but still considering pullout next
year

TOKYO - (AP) Japan's Cabinet will decide next week to extend its
non-combat military mission to Iraq, but could pull out its troops as soon
as next May, Kyodo News agency reported Wednesday.
The Kyodo report cited unidentified sources, but government
officials have hinted for months that the humanitarian mission would be
extended when it expires Dec. 14.
Japan has about 600 troops based in the southern Iraqi city of
Samawah in support of reconstruction efforts there. Tokyo has been a firm
and vocal supporter of the U.S.-led invasion, but public opposition to the
dispatch of Japanese troops is rising.

__________________