Japan Cabinet OKs Troops for Iraq

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told his nation Tuesday that it “must be a trustworthy ally of the U.S.” as his Cabinet approved sending about 600 soldiers from Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to Iraq.

“For Japan to achieve peace and security and for the country to prosper, it is necessary both to strengthen the U.S. alliance and to cooperate with international society,” Koizumi said at a news conference broadcast live on all major Japanese television channels. “To do this, we must offer deeds, not just words.”

Opposition politicians accused him of putting his promises to President Bush ahead of his responsibility to the Japanese public.

The decision to send the soldiers had been widely anticipated but remains deeply controversial in Japan. A poll by national broadcaster NHK last week showed that 17% of respondents approved of an early dispatch of troops, while more than 50% believed that it was necessary to wait until stability was restored in Iraq.

The Japanese Constitution, drawn up by U.S. occupation authorities after World War II, strictly limits the nation’s use of its military force. Though this has been progressively “reinterpreted,” the Self-Defense Forces still operate under unusual constraints. The mission to Iraq is intended to be humanitarian, helping to restore the water supply, providing medical aid and helping rebuild schools.

Nevertheless, the deployment is considered the most dangerous that SDF troops have ever undertaken. They will be equipped with heavy weapons such as rocket launchers and machine guns, which they have not had on previous overseas missions as peacekeepers. No Japanese soldier has been killed in combat since World War II.

It has yet to be announced when the troops will be sent to Iraq, though it is believed a small force will head to the region this month and the rest will follow next year. The force will be sent to the relatively stable southeastern region, accompanied by six naval ships and eight aircraft.

The constitutional and legal constraints on the military mean that a special law was required to enable the dispatch to Iraq. Parliament passed the measure in July but stipulated that the troops could be sent only to “noncombat zones,” a term that many Japanese feel cannot be applied now to any part of Iraq. Nor can the soldiers fire their weapons unless fired upon, a condition widely seen here as leaving them vulnerable.

At his news conference, Koizumi called on the public to accept the challenge of helping in the reconstruction of Iraq and to live up to Japan’s responsibility as a U.S. ally. He pointed to the “many sacrifices” Americans have made in pursuit of a free Iraq.

Japan still remembers with humiliation how it was criticized in the U.S. for contributing only money and not troops to the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

The current dispatch represents a gamble for Koizumi, whose popularity already has been dented by the issue. His standing with the public could be damaged if any Japanese soldiers are killed or somehow cause any civilian casualties in Iraq. However, the mission is in accordance with Koizumi’s advocacy of a more robust foreign policy. He is also in favor of revising the constitution to expand the role of the SDF.

The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan criticized the government Tuesday, saying it was paying more attention to pressure from the U.S. than the misgivings of the Japanese public.

“I don’t care if Koizumi and Bush want to put on cowboy hats and get themselves killed, but I am firmly opposed to them dispatching the SDF and involving the Japanese public,” said Takahiro Yokomichi, the party’s deputy leader. “Even if the SDF is going under the banner of humanitarian aid, since it is being sent at the demand of the U.S. it wouldn’t be a surprise if they become a target for terrorists.”