About Japan ruling party decides to keep troops in Iraq

Team Infidel

TOKYO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Japan's main ruling party decided on
Thursday to keep non-combat troops in Iraq for up to a year after their
current mandate expires on Dec. 14, a party member said, clearing the way
for government approval later in the day.
Japan has about 550 non-combat troops in Samawa, in southern Iraq,
where they are engaged in reconstruction activities such as repairing
schools and other public buildings.
The dispatch has won praise from close ally Washington, but is
opposed by most Japanese voters. In a Mainichi newspaper poll published in
October, 77 percent of those surveyed said they were against an extension.

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