The government on Friday denied a newspaper report that it might pull the Ground Self-Defense Force contingent out of Iraq by September.
Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga and Foreign Minister Taro Aso said in separate news conferences that the extension or withdrawal of the troops has not been decided.
"We have absolutely not decided on it," Nukaga told reporters after a morning Cabinet meeting, dismissing the report by the Asahi Shimbun. The major daily said the GSDF will be pulled by September, apparently in line with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's decision to step down from office then.
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