Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Thursday that Japan has decided to keep its non-combat troops in Iraq for up to a year after their current mandate expires on Dec. 14. The government's plan specifies that Japan will pay close attention to the international forces in Iraq, however, a hint at a likely withdrawal before the year is up, media reports have said. Japan's dispatch of some 550 ground troops to Samawa in southern Iraq for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance has won praise from close ally Washington, but is opposed by most Japanese voters.
