Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on MonFday to extend the Ground Self-Defense Force's mission in Samawah, southern Iraq, to help rebuild the war-torn nation, a government official said.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='200' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='/images/photos2005/nn20051206a8a.jpg' WIDTH='200' HEIGHT='212'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi greets his Iraqi counterpart, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Monday evening at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. </B></FONT></TD> </TR> <TABLE> </PHOTO> <PARAGRAPH>Al-Jaafari's visit to Japan is widely seen as part of the government's effort to nurture a positive atmosphere before it officially extends the GSDF mission in Iraq later this week. The mission currently is set to expire Dec. 14.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>During the weekend, Defense Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga made a surprise trip to Samawah, conducting an inspection that was aimed at paving the way toward public acceptance in Japan of extending the SDF mission.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'It is still too early to decide to pull out the troops,' al-Jaafari was quoted as telling Koizumi. 'Please consider the extension as an investment in the future of Iraq.'</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>He was also quoted as saying the troops' withdrawal should be carried out in a peaceful and successful way that will be appreciated by local residents.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Koizumi said he will 'greatly take into consideration' al-Jaafari's praise for the GSDF's activities in Iraq in deciding whether to extend the mission, according to the government official.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The Iraqi prime minister, who arrived in Tokyo earlier in the day and will leave Tuesday, thanked Japan for providing some $5 billion in aid, writing off 690 million yen of Iraq's debts to Tokyo and dispatching the GSDF to Iraq, the official said.</PARAGRAPH> <SUBHEAD> Convoy attacked</SUBHEAD> <PARAGRAPH> SAMAWAH, Iraq –

Protesters threw stones at a convoy of Japanese troop vehicles Sunday in Iraq, breaking a mirror on one of the vehicles, officials of the Ground Self-Defense Force said.

The incident took place in Rumaythah near the GSDF's camp in Samawah as about 40 demonstrators, some apparently armed, surrounded a facility during a ceremony to mark completion of repairs by GSDF personnel, they said.

The demonstrators were members of a Shiite group headed by cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, local police said.