Japanese troops to stay in Iraq
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The Japanese government says it is undeterred in its fight against terrorism, following the killing of a Japanese hostage in Iraq.
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A group led by al Qaeda ally Abu Musab al-Zarqawi threatened to behead a Japanese hostage in Iraq if Tokyo did not withdraw its troops, but Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Japan's contingent would stay put.
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi  said Wednesday he would not withdraw troops from Iraq despite a  threat by a militant group to behead a Japanese hostage within  48 hours unless Tokyo pulled its forces out.
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TOKYO, Japan -- Japan&#39;s ruling party has approved plans to keep its troops in Iraq beyond the original withdrawal date of December 14 this year.
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The first batch of Japanese troops began pulling out of Iraq Friday, with about 30 arriving in Kuwait on their way home, news reports said Friday. A C-130 transport aircraft of Japan&#039;s air force carrying about 30 troops arrived at a Kuwaiti airport Friday afternoon, Kyodo News agency reported from Kuwait. Public broadcaster NHK had a similar report.
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Japan may extend its controversial non-combat troop dispatch to Iraq, a key gesture of support for Washington ahead of a meeting on Tuesday between Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and US President George W. Bush.
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JAPAN&#39;S troop deployment in Iraq beyond December is at risk as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi braces for a wave of public anger over the nightmare ending to the country&#39;s second Baghdad hostage crisis.
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Japan&#39;s decision to extend its troops&#39; mandate in Iraq will mean they stay in the country for at least another year. But the move, seen as part of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi&#39;s efforts
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Japan has asked the British army to help protect its troops in southern Iraq after Dutch soldiers withdraw from the area in March next year, a Japanese newspaper says.
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The United States welcomed on Thursday Japan&#39;s decision to extend the deployment of its forces in Iraq for an additional 12 months.
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A group threatened to execute a Japanese hostage in Iraq unless Japan pulls out its forces, but Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Wednesday that the Japanese troops would remain in the country.
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Japan&#39;s defense chief on Sunday said that Japanese troops could remain in Iraq until late 2005, a year longer than their current mandate.
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Japan today refused to withdraw its troops from Iraq despite demands by Iraqi militants who have taken a Japanese civilian hostage and threatened to behead him unless the soldiers left.
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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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TOKYO : Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has vowed not to pull out its troops in Iraq, despite reports that another of its national has been taken hostage.
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Japan will extend the presence of its Self-Defense Forces (SDF) in Iraq by one year to December 2005,a major newspaper reported Tuesday.
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Japan&#39;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&#39; humanitarian mission there.