Japan mourns amid new information
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The diplomats were the first Japanese to die in Iraq.
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The deaths of two Japanese diplomats in Iraq has not shaken Tokyo's resolve to send troops.
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TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Japan has held a state funeral for two diplomats killed in Iraq amid the release of new information about how they died.
On Saturday, before an altar filled with thousands of white flowers, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and other officials paid their respects to Katsuhiko Oku and Masanori Inoue.
''I feel a deep sorrow for the loss of the two excellent diplomats and feel strong anger over this cruel attack," Koizumi said, adding the country would not forget the passion of the first Japanese casualties in Iraq.
On Friday, Japan's foreign ministry said it had received new information from the United States, saying the two were shot dead in their armored vehicle last weekend and not at a roadside stand as reported.
Eyewitnesses said three or four vehicles ambushed the diplomats with automatic rifles Saturday near the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit -- the hometown of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein -- as they were traveling to a reconstruction conference.
Earlier accounts from a local resident said the victims were buying refreshments when they were killed.
Their Iraqi driver was also killed in the attack.
U.S. officials say they still have no information about who was responsible for the attack, and the investigation is ongoing.
The Japanese government, which has also come in for criticism from its electorate for supporting the U.S. war, has vowed to stay in Iraq to help in the reconstruction despite the deaths.
Koizumi has called the killings an outrage, but on Saturday reaffirmed Japan's responsibility to help Iraq.
''In conformity with your wishes, the government is to work for the reconstruction of Iraq with the international community," he said.
Japan's embassy in Baghdad remains open, but many Japanese are against a presence in Iraq.
A recent opinion poll shows only 9 percent of Japanese support the government's plan to dispatch troops to the region.
Plans to send more than 1,000 troops were delayed last month after a bomb attack on an Italian military police headquarters in Iraq that killed 19 Italians and 14 locals.
Japanese media reports say the Koizumi government will announce next week its arrangements for deploying troops to Iraq.
