35 Japanese troops arrived in Kuwait

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s decision to contribute soldiers for Iraq has met stiff public opposition, and the killing of two Japanese diplomats in Iraq in November added to jitters.

The 35-strong team dressed in olive camouflaged fatigues were given a ceremonial send-off at the Defense Agency’s headquarters before heading to the airport for the Kuwait journey.

"We will strive to stabilize and improve the living conditions of Iraqi people," Colonel Masahisa Sato, who heads the detachment, was quoted by AFP.

Once the detachment arrived in Kuwait, they would travel overland to the southern Iraqi city of Samawa later this month, according to Jiji Press and Kyodo news agencies.

When the troops set foot on Iraqi soil, it will mark the first time since World War II that Japan’s military has engaged in operations in a country where fighting is still going on.

An advance team from the air force is already operating in Kuwait, where Japanese planes will be based to transport medical and other supplies to Iraqi airports.

Shrugging off public disapproval, Koizumi said Friday, January 16, he hoped people would be convinced the deployment was the right thing to do.

"I am sure that as time passes people will understand it was the right decision to send the Self-Defense Forces there and hope they will play an active part," he said.

"We cannot achieve peace just by preaching for it," he told a convention of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), saying Japan had an international responsibility to help.