Japan will dispatch some 550 ground troops to southern Iraq in four waves starting in early February and ending in late March.
The plan is outlined in a draft basic plan on dispatching the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq that was obtained Friday by Kyodo News. The plan also calls for sending Air Self-Defense Force C-130 cargo planes to Kuwait in mid-January to transport goods to and from Iraq.
The government plans to adopt the basic plan at a Cabinet meeting by mid-December, government sources said. It will map out by the end of this year a detailed plan on when and where the SDF deployment to help rebuild Iraq will happen.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.