An explosion took place Thursday morning near four Ground Self-Defense Force vehicles in southern Iraq, damaging one windshield, government officials in Tokyo said.
No GSDF troops were injured and all four vehicles returned to the GSDF camp in Samawah with no further damage, the officials said.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately known, and it was unclear whether the incident represented a deliberate attack aimed at the GSDF, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a regular news conference.