Japan extends troops mission in Iraq
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Japan&#39;s cabinet decided Thursday to extend the Self-Defense Forces&#39; (SDF) humanitarian assistance operation in Iraq by one year until Dec. 14, 2005.
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TOKYO, Japan -- Japan plans to keep its troops in Iraq beyond the original withdrawal date of December 14 this year, according to Japanese media reports Tuesday.
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The military will extend the combat tours of about 10,400 troops already in Iraq and send an additional 1,500 soldiers.
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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Wednesday Japanese troops would not pull out of Iraq, rejecting a demand by Islamic militants claiming to have taken a Japanese hostage.
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BAGHDAD, Iraq - Japanese leaders on Sunday insisted they would not cut short their troopsâ deployment in Iraq despite the discovery of the body of a Japanese backpacker killed by Islamic militants.
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TOKYO - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi vowed on Sunday that Japanese troops would continue their domestically unpopular mission in Iraq after Islamic militants demanding a pullout killed a 24-year-old Japanese tourist.
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BAGHDAD - The 48-hour deadline set by a group of Islamic militants for Japan to agree to withdraw its troops from Iraq expired Thursday night, with the group threatening to behead a 24-year-old Japanese hostage if Tokyo ignores its demand.
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TOKYO - Japan insisted yesterday it would not bow to the demands of militants in Iraq who threatened to behead a young Japanese unless Tokyo pulls its troops from the country within 48 hours.
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Japan's Cabinet on Thursday approved a plan to keep Japanese troops in Iraq for another year, the trade minister said.
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TOKYO -- Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet agreed yesterday to extend the deployment of Japan's 600 noncombat troops in Iraq for up to a year despite widespread public opposition and condemnations from political opponents.
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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 approved an extension of its troop deployment in Iraq Thursday for up to a year, a decision opposed by most voters, who want to end the nation&#39;s riskiest military mission since World War II.
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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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The current one-year deployment of Japanese troops in Iraq will be extended by another year if the security situation there does not deteriorate further, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Tuesday.
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Japan's defense chief said Sunday that Japanese troops should remain in Iraq until the country is properly rehabilitated, possibly until late 2005.
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The United States is dispatching an additional 1,500 troops to Iraq and extending the stays of more than 10,000 others to bolster security ahead of January&#39;s scheduled elections.
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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi indicated Friday that extending the Self-Defense Forces&#39; mission in Iraq was almost a done deal.