The government plans to notify the Diet and countries concerned as early as September after assessing the situation in Iraq. It will then switch mostly to official development assistance to help the battered country, the sources said.

The move is being timed to coincide with the launch of a legitimate Iraqi government and the end of the U.N.-sanctioned deployment of multinational forces in Iraq at the end of the year.

In December 2004, the government extended the SDF's deployment to Iraq and surrounding countries until Dec. 14 this year.

Up to 600 Ground Self-Defense Force troops have been stationed in Samawah in southern Iraq since early last year to repair schools and roads and provide clean water and medical aid.

The Japan Times Weekly: May 14, 2005
(C) All rights reserved