The government plans to extend the reconstruction mission of Self-Defense Forces troops in Iraq for another year, sources said Wednesday.
Tokyo plans to make a formal decision on the extension at a Cabinet meeting Dec. 8, according to a government briefing Wednesday to a senior member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who conveyed the party's agreement with the measure, the sources said.
The government is considering withdrawing the Ground Self-Defense Force troops from Samawah in southern Iraq around May, but a formal one-year extension will give it flexibility in deciding the timing of a pullout if the situation in Iraq changes, according to the sources.
Hundreds of GSDF troops have been providing humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in Samawah since early 2004. The mission, authorized under a special law, is due to expire Dec. 14. The government extended the mission for a year last December.
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