Japan PM announces Iraq troop withdrawal

TOKYO - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced yesterday that Japan will withdraw its troops from Iraq, ending the Japanese military's riskiest and most ambitious overseas mission since World War 2.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Monday his forces would take over security from July in the southern province of Muthanna, where the British oversee a multinational contingent that includes Japanese troops.

Japan's troop dispatch -- a symbol of Tokyo's willingness to put "boots on the ground" for its close ally, the United States, and to take a bigger global security role -- won praise from Washington. But it was opposed by many at home including critics who said the dispatch violated Japan's pacifist constitution.

"I want to express my profound respect and gratitude to the Self-Defence Forces (troops) who sweated in tough conditions with the strong awareness they were conducting their activities in Iraq for all of the Japanese people," Koizumi told a news conference at which he pledged to keep supporting Iraq's nation building.

The decision to withdraw comes ahead of Koizumi's visit to Washington for talks with President George W. Bush in late June and before he steps down as prime minister in September.

No Japanese soldiers have been killed or wounded in Iraq, but Koizumi faced a political crisis in 2004 when three Japanese civilians were taken hostage by insurgents. The three, as well as two others taken hostage later, were released unharmed.

In all, six Japanese citizens, including two diplomats, have been killed by insurgents in Iraq.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said the troops had won high marks for their military discipline.

"I think such views have made a very big contribution to improving the brand image of Japan as a country," he told a news conference ahead of the official announcement.

Japan has said its withdrawal from the southern city of Samawa had to be co-ordinated with Britain and Australia, whose troops provide security for the roughly 550 Japanese soldiers engaged in reconstruction and humanitarian work.

Japanese Defence Minister Fukushiro Nukaga immediately issued an order for the troop withdraw, Kyodo news agency said. The process could be completed by the end of July, Kyodo said.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the Australian troops would keep "looking after the Japanese until the Japanese have gone, and I expect that to be quite soon".

In Canberra, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said on Tuesday that Australia would re-assign its 460 troops protecting Japanese forces to help the Iraqi military secure the border with Syria.

"It has the potential to be more dangerous for our soldiers. We don't underestimate the risk," he told reporters.

Koizumi had stressed the need to back the United States in Iraq to ensure Washington comes to Japan's aid in the event of an attack by its unpredictable neighbour, communist North Korea.

The announcement coincided with assessments by some officials that North Korea may be poised to launch a missile that some experts say could reach as far as Alaska.

North Korea shocked Japan and the rest of the world in 1998 when it launched a missile, part of which flew over Japan.

After the troop withdrawal, Japan will expand the mission of its air force planes based in Kuwait to include the airlifting of UN personnel, said Koizumi's coalition partner, New Komeito party chief Takenori Kanzaki.

Japan decided to send ground troops to Iraq in December 2003, and the first major contingent arrived in February 2004.

Japan's military activities overseas are limited by its pacifist constitution, although the government has been stretching those restrictions in recent years.

- REUTERS