Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced Thursday that his government has decided to extend the mission of Japanese troops in Iraq by one year. Koizumi told a press conference that Japan would continue its support because it sees international harmony as a high priority. He said a continuing Japan-U.S. alliance and international cooperation are important for Japan's foreign policy and for the nation's peace. Japan sent around 550 troops to the southern Iraqi city of Samawah in its first overseas military deployment under a Japanese flag since World War II. The planned extension was widely expected following Defense Agency Director General Yoshinori Ono's short trip to Samawah over the weekend. After coming back from Iraq, Ono told Koizumi that security in Samawah was "unpredictable but quite stable". Japan's constitution prohibits the country from overseas troop deployments that might involve the use of force and the mission focused on infrastructure projects and providing water and medical care. The latest decision by Koizumi, a close ally of U.S. President George W. Bush, has not joined some other countries which have identified a timetable for ending their military missions in Iraq. Countries such as Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland have already indicated their plans to withdraw or reduce their troops in the coming months. --more 1302 Local Time 1002 GMT
