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Japanese troops to be in harm's
way
By Richard Hanson
TOKYO -
The devil will be in the details.
Japan's
government, led by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi,
decided Tuesday on a long-awaited basic plan to dispatch
members of the Ground Self-Defense Forces (GSDF) to
Iraq, where they will engage in non-combatant duties in
the relatively safe southeastern regions of the
war-racked country.
It was a giddy moment for
the nation.
No Japanese soldier has officially
engaged in combat - killing and being killed - since
World War II, and many fear a weakening of a postwar
constitution that renounces, in its famous Article 9,
war as a policy option. In practical terms, Japan will
be sending military personnel to Iraq to support the
nation's closest ally, the United States, in rebuilding
the country.
The details and timing of sending
the troops are still to be decided. Koizumi's cabinet
endorsed a decision to send troops from the GSDF to
southeastern Iraq over a one-year period that could
start as early as next Monday, in the form of an advance
team of the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF).
Emotionally, the decision is already fraught
with images of death. Last week, the government buried,
in a solemn state funeral, two diplomats shot dead on
November 29 in Iraq while carrying out their duties,
becoming Japan's first official non-combat casualties in
Iraq. That brought an outpouring of grief, but mixed
feelings about Japan's evolving role in Iraq. The major
opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ),
has staunchly opposed the government's intention to send
troops from the start.
The government plans to
have the GSDF troops supply potable water and improve
medical, humanitarian and educational services in
southeastern Iraq. The city of Samawah, about 250
kilometers southeast of Baghdad, is the candidate site
for the planned deployment, according to Kyodo News.
In terms of troops, and equipment, there are
plans to deploy up to 600 GSDF troops, up to 200
vehicles (some of them armored), anti-tank weapons, and
up to eight ASDF airplanes, including C-130s. Units of
the Maritime Self-Defense Force are also expected to be
deployed. Most earlier deployments of Self-Defense
Forces (SDF) have involved joining in peacekeeping
operations under the auspices of the United Nations.
Koizumi has approached the Iraq problem with
caution ever since the violent attacks against the
US-led "coalition" forces escalated sharply last summer,
followed by direct attacks on UN outposts. "This
reflects the will of the state," Koizumi said in a
television address. "These are tasks that ordinary
citizens cannot not do ... In the face of danger, Japan
can no longer afford to make only monetary
contributions," Koizumi said, a reference to Japan's
large financial contribution to the first Gulf War in
1991, where it played no military role.
In July,
the Diet (parliament) passed a law authorizing the use
of the SDF in Iraq, with the stipulation that the troops
will be only sent to safe areas to conduct humanitarian
duties. Since then, the government has fretted over how
to find such an area. The search focused on the southern
part of the country. One major worry of those being sent
into harm's way is that most polls show the public will
react badly to casualties.
The planned duration
of one year for the SDF will cover the Upper House
election to be held next July, in which the ruling
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition
partners will face tough competition from the DPJ, which
proved to be a credible threat in the Lower House
election held early last month.
For all the
concern over the deployment of SDF, there has also been
a surge of popular interest in the preparations that the
troops are making. The troops are to be transported by a
special cargo plane painted in light-blue camouflage.
They will be carrying weapons that they have never used.
That makes Japan rather unusual among the 36 countries
that have sent some troops to Iraq.
A television
broadcast from the area in Iraq where the SDF troops
will be located showed signs of welcome, along with
scenes from a hospital built some time ago with Japanese
aid. "We welcome the Japanese," one woman told the
reporter.
In Japan, one poll showed that 11
percent of those asked were in favor of sending troops,
while 28 percent were opposed. The majority preferred to
wait until things were safer.
(Copyright 2003
Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
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