A day after Japan's first ground troops set foot on Iraqi soil, top government officials found themselves urging members of the Liberal Democratic Party to unite and collectively support the dispatch.
The calls came as some senior LDP members reportedly hinted that they might not vote in favor of the deployment of the Self-Defense Forces in upcoming Diet deliberations on the issue.
An advance Ground Self-Defense Force unit arrived in the southern Iraq city of Samawah on Monday evening.
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