Tokyo - Japan on Friday ordered a complete withdrawal of its
military from Iraq to start by the end of December.
Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada issued the order after
Prime Minister Taro Aso and his cabinet agreed on the withdrawal.
The government decided to remove its remaining personnel, who are
involved in airlift assistance, because Iraq's political and security
situation has improved, the Kyodo News Agency reported, citing
government officials.
A UN resolution authorizing the deployment of multinational forces
in Iraq was also set to expire at the end of December.
Japan's Air Self-Defence Force has been airlifting supplies and
troops from an airbase in Kuwait to Iraq since March 2004.
About 200 non-combat personnel have airlifted humanitarian
supplies and goods for Japan's ground forces deployed in the southern
Iraqi city of Samawah and the United Nations as well as airlifting
troops and materials for Japan's international allies.
Japan's Ground Self-Defence Force had already pulled out of Iraq
in 2006, but the government has yet to decide whether to continue a
Maritime Self-Defence Force refuelling mission that supports
anti-terrorism operations in Afghanistan past its deadline in January.
With its military pullout from Iraq, Japan's government is seeking
to reinforce its reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan through the
refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean, but the opposition Democratic
Party of Japan, which holds a majority in the upper house of the
Diet, has been blocking a bill to extend the mission.
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