Iraq Visit Clears Way for Japan Troops to Stay On
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Japan's defense minister was due to return home on Monday from a flying visit to Iraq after declaring the town of Samawa safe, setting the stage for the government to extend its troops' humanitarian mission there.
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Japan will probably keep its troops in Iraq beyond the current Dec. 14 departure date, Hiroyuki Hosoda, Japan&#39;s chief Cabinet secretary, said.
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Japanâs defence chief said today that Japanese troops should remain in Iraq until the country is properly rehabilitated, possibly until late 2005.
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Japan&#39;s prime minister, a staunch US ally in Iraq, refused on Wednesday to withdraw Japan&#39;s troops from the country, taking a tough stance in the face of demands by militants threatening to behead a Japanese hostage unless the soldiers leave.
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The government made it official Thursday: the Self-Defense Forces troops in Iraq will stay for another year, as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi renewed his commitment to reconstruction efforts
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Japan&#39;s defence chief has signalled that the country&#39;s troops could extend their humanitarian mission to Iraq beyond an initial December 14 deadline, possibly for another year.
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The White House said Wednesday that it would expect Japan to keep supporting US-led military operations in Afghanistan despite the resignation of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
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Japan will keep its troops in Iraq for another year, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Thursday, even though most voters want to end what is the nation&#39;s riskiest military mission since World War II.
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Albania and Poland reconfirmed on Tuesday that their troops will stay in Iraq to help maintain stability in the country.
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South Korea's parliament voted Friday to keep troops in Iraq for one more year, a move aimed at cementing the alliance with the United States against North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi says Japan won&#39;t yield to terrorism by withdrawing its troops from Iraq, in response to reports an Iraqi group kidnapped a Japanese
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi renewed support for the reconstruction of Iraq but made no commitment on future troop deployments in a meeting with US President George W. Bush.
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi  reiterated on Wednesday that he wanted at some point to visit  Iraq, where Japanese troops are engaged in reconstruction work.
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The Japanese cabinet has approved a proposal to keep the country's troops in Iraq for another year.
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Japan has welcomed President Bush&#39;s decision to redeploy US troops overseas, saying the changes will better suit the global security environment.
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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is considering announcing an end to Japan&#039;s military mission in Iraq ahead of his meeting with US President George W. Bush later this month, the foreign minister said.
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TONY EASTLEY: The Japanese Government says it will continue its mission in Iraq, despite the beheading of one of its citizens. The troop deployment is unpopular in Japan, but surprisingly, the political fallout