ID :
14379
Wed, 07/30/2008 - 11:58
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/14379
The shortlink copeid
Japan to withdraw ASDF from Iraq by end of 2008
TOKYO, July 30 Kyodo - Japan will withdraw its Air Self-Defense Force from Iraq by the end of this year in line with the expiration of a U.N. resolution in December, which authorizes the current deployment of multinational forces in Iraq, informedsources said Tuesday.
The move, if realized, will mark the end of the Self-Defense Forces' mission in the war-torn country since 2004 under a special law supporting thereconstruction of Iraq.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Bunmei Ibuki told a press conference that the government and the ruling coalition will ''have difficulty'' in legitimatizing the continuation of the ASDF mission once the U.N. resolution expires because it is deployed in the skies ''of a certain country with sovereignty.'' Several government sources also noted the difficulty of continuing the missionbeyond the end of the year.
There have been views in the government that it is not necessary to seek Diet approval in concluding a status of forces agreement with Iraq, which is required to continue the mission next year, because it would not require anylegal revisions or budget.
But the government and the ruling coalition of the LDP and the New Komeito party have apparently become wary of sparking confusion in the parliamentary debate due to possible resistance from the opposition parties, which controlthe upper chamber, over the Iraqi mission.
A SOFA would exempt ASDF members in Iraq from local criminal prosecution andtaxation.
Under the special law for Iraqi reconstruction, enacted in July 2003, Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force provided noncombat support for two and half years inthe southern Iraqi city of Samawah before withdrawing in July 2006.
The ASDF, based in Kuwait, remains involved in airlift activities for themultinational forces and the United Nations.
In April, the Nagoya High Court ruled the ASDF activities unconstitutional.
Overseas deployment of the SDF is a sensitive issue under Japan's war-renouncing Constitution. Under the current interpretation by thegovernment, Japanese troops cannot be sent to combat zones.
==Kyodo
The move, if realized, will mark the end of the Self-Defense Forces' mission in the war-torn country since 2004 under a special law supporting thereconstruction of Iraq.
Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Bunmei Ibuki told a press conference that the government and the ruling coalition will ''have difficulty'' in legitimatizing the continuation of the ASDF mission once the U.N. resolution expires because it is deployed in the skies ''of a certain country with sovereignty.'' Several government sources also noted the difficulty of continuing the missionbeyond the end of the year.
There have been views in the government that it is not necessary to seek Diet approval in concluding a status of forces agreement with Iraq, which is required to continue the mission next year, because it would not require anylegal revisions or budget.
But the government and the ruling coalition of the LDP and the New Komeito party have apparently become wary of sparking confusion in the parliamentary debate due to possible resistance from the opposition parties, which controlthe upper chamber, over the Iraqi mission.
A SOFA would exempt ASDF members in Iraq from local criminal prosecution andtaxation.
Under the special law for Iraqi reconstruction, enacted in July 2003, Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force provided noncombat support for two and half years inthe southern Iraqi city of Samawah before withdrawing in July 2006.
The ASDF, based in Kuwait, remains involved in airlift activities for themultinational forces and the United Nations.
In April, the Nagoya High Court ruled the ASDF activities unconstitutional.
Overseas deployment of the SDF is a sensitive issue under Japan's war-renouncing Constitution. Under the current interpretation by thegovernment, Japanese troops cannot be sent to combat zones.
==Kyodo
