Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Monday he still considers the southern Iraqi region around the city of Samawah a "noncombat zone," despite the Iraqi government declaring a state of emergency for most of the nation.

The government's view "has not changed," Koizumi said when asked to comment on the security situation in and around the city, where Japan has deployed about 600 troops for humanitarian aid missions.

The noncombat-zone designation is a prerequisite for Self-Defense Forces troops to operate in Iraq under a special law authorizing the mission.