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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 04, 2003

Japanese FM: dispatch of SDF to Iraq safe

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Tuesday that dispatch of the Self-Defense Force (SDF) to Iraq is not lift-threatening because there are safe places despite mounting attacks.


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Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi said Tuesday that dispatch of the Self-Defense Force (SDF) to Iraq is not lift-threatening because there are safe places despite mounting attacks.

"The security situation is an issue that needs to be addressed, but there are places that meet conditions for the law," Kawaguchi told reporters.

Other senior Japanese government officials, including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, have also made similar remarks amid growing guerrilla attacks on US forces and other targets in Iraq.

In the latest bloody attack on Sunday, 16 US troops were killedand 20 injured when their helicopter was shot down by should-firedmissiles in west of Baghdad.

Under a law enacted in July, Japan is expected to send the SDF to Iraq for humanitarian assistance and rebuilding operations. The legislation, however, limits the operation in areas where no battle is expected to take place.

The timetable for the dispatch has not been announced. Earlier reports said a spearhead could embark in mid-December and the massive dispatch would start early next year. The SDF is expected to be stationing in southern Iraq where security situations are relatively better.


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