The escalating violence in Iraq has forced the government to once again step back from its on-again, off-again schedule for an SDF mission to the country.
As it now stands, Self-Defense Forces units will not be sent to Iraq by year's end, as planned.
"Unfortunately, the situation is not such that our SDF units can work in a sufficiently (safe environment)," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda told reporters Thursday morning.
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