Attack on home for Japan troops
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As many as 1,000 Japanese troops are set to be deployed to Iraq.
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Japanese troops cross the Kuwaiti border into Iraq on Monday, marking a shift in Japan's foreign policy.
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TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- A mobile home set to be used by the Japanese Defense Agency as housing for its officers in Iraq was attacked west of Baghdad while it was being moved, the agency has reported.
The attack took place Sunday near Ramadi. A Jordanian driver was killed but it is not known if the vehicle, which was heading towards western Iraq, had any marking linking it to the U.S.-led coalition or the Japanese Defense Agency.
Japanese troops arrived in southern Iraq last week to begin Japan's most controversial and riskiest military venture since World War II, and officials are particularly keen to avert any casualties.
The advance party of 35 members of Japan's army -- known as the Ground Self Defense Forces -- are the first Japanese ground troops to be deployed to Iraq and are making preparations for a dispatch of up to 1,000 troops, including air and naval support, in the next month.
The advance party arrived at the Dutch military camp in Samawa last week after crossing the border from Kuwait.
"Our mission is to collect information about security and coordinate with aid organizations before our main body comes to Iraq," the head of the advance party, Col. Masahisa Sato, said. "I am proud to be here."
Japanese Prime Minster Junichiro Koizumi's decision to send forces to Iraq is a historic change in foreign policy and has drawn fire and much debate, with critics saying the deployment is against the country's pacifist constitution that forbids troops from engaging in combat.
Though the deployment will be based in less volatile areas in Iraq and is restricted to working on humanitarian infrastructure projects, critics say the present security situation in Iraq means Japanese troops still run the risk of being drawn into combat situations.
No Japanese soldier has fired a shot in combat or been killed in an overseas mission since World War II despite roles in international peacekeeping missions, such as in East Timor, which were made possible by a 1992 law.
