Japanese Troops to Stay Another Year in Iraq

The small and mostly symbolic contingent of Japanese troops in Iraq will stay for another year, Japan’s government announced Thursday, placing loyalty to the United States ahead of jittery domestic public opinion that favors bringing the soldiers home.

The widely expected extension offers support to the Bush administration at a time when several allies are either withdrawing or signaling their intent to pull their troops from Iraq.

But the Japanese decision also underscores the degree to which most of the remaining allies are there in little more than name only.

The Japanese Self-Defense Forces have sent 550 soldiers to a base in Samawah in relatively peaceful southern Iraq, where they have purified water, carried out modest repairs on schools and helped out at local hospitals.

The Japanese have played no role in the massive challenge of ending Iraq’s violence. The special law under which the troops were deployed does not permit them to be dispatched into combat zones, and Japanese troops “haven’t fired a single round,” Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday.

“Samawah is not a combat zone at present, and it will continue to be a noncombat zone,” Koizumi said. “When it stops being a noncombat zone, they’ll be withdrawn.”

The deployment is widely seen here as a low-risk way for Tokyo to shore up its alliance with Washington. Koizumi made it clear that standing beside the U.S. in Iraq played a significant part in his decision.

“The U.S. is in a tough position,” he told reporters in Tokyo. “We have to keep supporting the United States when it faces hardship in Iraq. It’s important to further build mutual trust with the United States.”

Critics here contend that standing by Washington has tarnished Japan’s image in the Middle East.

Samawah politicians and residents have expressed disappointment about the scale of the Japanese reconstruction effort, whereas others in the region say they now regard Japanese troops as part of an occupying force.

But although recent surveys in Japan have shown that as many as 60% of those polled oppose extending the deployment, Koizumi countered that a majority also probably would agree that “the Japan-U.S. alliance is the way to secure [the] development and prosperity of Japan.”

“Putting [that] into concrete action -- that’s the decision I made at this time,” he said.

Koizumi has also sought to expand Japan’s role as an international player, including seeking a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. As a result, he has seized opportunities to stretch the bounds of the country’s pacifist constitution that limits Japan’s armed forces to acting in self-defense.

His aim, he has made clear, is to see Japan restored to the status of a “normal” country able to send troops on overseas missions.

In another example of Japan’s increasing military-related activity, its Cabinet approved defense guidelines today that eased a ban on weapons exports, authorized joint development of a missile defense system with the U.S. and called for Tokyo to participate in international peacekeeping missions.

The plan reaffirms a ban on nuclear weapons in Japan, the only country to come under such attack.

The measure notes concerns about weapons development in North Korea and about China’s naval activities and military modernization.

Because of budget pressures, the plan calls for cuts in the numbers of tanks and troops.

In keeping troops in Iraq, Japan runs the risk of taking or causing casualties, thereby undermining government claims that the soldiers are on a humanitarian mission.

Koizumi has been helped by the Japanese media, which have abided by government requests that they not send reporters to Samawah. As a result, there has been no independent confirmation of government claims that troops haven’t been attacked or faced situations in which they might have used their weapons.

Nor has Koizumi encountered tough questions on how the Japanese troops will defend themselves after the planned withdrawal in March of the Dutch contingent that provides security in Samawah.

There have been suggestions that the British may take over that role, but the Dutch and some Japanese military officers have suggested that Japanese troops are capable of handling security.

But that would push Japan into more of a combative stance, a move that would require sending more troops and heighten the risks.