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Japan troops get Iraq go-ahead
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Japan's powerful lower house has given the green-light to the nation's biggest foreign military deployment since World War II, passing a law that allows soldiers to be sent to assist in the rebuilding of Iraq. Though the bill still needs to be passed by the upper house, its approval is almost certain and would permit Japanese troops to serve in a non-combat role in Iraq. The deployment could be in place as early as October and would involve about 1,000 troops. They are expected to help with water supplies, provide medical assistance and assist U.S. forces with transportation and logistics. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his cabinet have stressed the troops will be restricted to operating only in designated non-combat zones as Japan's pacifist constitution does not allow its troops to be involved in international conflicts unless in self-defense. But critics of the bill say the zones are ill-defined given the string of attacks on U.S.-led coalition forces in recent weeks. Since May 1, at least 25 U.S. troops and six British soldiers have been killed in Iraq under hostile circumstances.
Japanese troops could easily be drawn into conflict which would go against Japan's 1947 constitution, critics argue. Though most Japanese did not support the war in Iraq, they have been resigned to some sort of military role in post-war Iraq. But support for a reconstruction role will evaporate should Japanese troops return home in body bags. Japan has been moving forward to boost its international security role in the past decade. After three years of haggling, Japan finally approved a bill in 1992 to allow Japanese troops to take part in U.N. peacekeeping missions. Since then, Japanese troops have been dispatched to Mozambique, Zaire, Cambodia and the Golan Heights. Its most recent deployment of peace troops was to East Timor following the former Indonesian territory's move to independence. Almost 700 troops were involved in the East Timor operation, then Japan's biggest post-Word War II deployment.
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