Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that the Self-Defense Forces mission in Iraq will be a major test of Japan's efforts to play a larger role in helping to maintain global peace and stability.
If the SDF deployment turns out a success, similar commitments may become a key mission for the SDF in the future, even though the situation may not directly affect Japan's national security, Ishiba said in a speech at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo.
The outcome of the Iraq mission will have a "great influence" on ongoing discussions within the government on whether the SDF Law should be revised to allow troops to engage in reconstruction activities in post-conflict areas, Ishiba said.
SDF troops have taken part in overseas peacekeeping operations under the auspices of the United Nations under a law enacted in 1992.
However, the government had to enact a new law last year in order to dispatch SDF troops to Iraq to assist in the reconstruction of the war-torn country, since no U.N. framework for such activities has been established following the U.S.-led war.
Government leaders have indicated they will consider permanent legislation that will authorize the dispatch of the SDF overseas on postconflict reconstruction missions even without U.N. authorization.
Ishiba also said one of the major reasons behind Japan's decision to send the SDF to Iraq is to strengthen the Japan-U.S. security alliance by winning Washington's trust.
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