Tokyo told Washington in November that it will begin withdrawing the Ground Self-Defense Force from Iraq in June and finish by the end of August, government and ruling coalition sources revealed Tuesday.
The pullout will follow the reported withdrawal around May of British and Australian forces in charge of security in southern Iraq, where the GSDF is deployed for reconstruction work, the sources said.
The withdrawal will be completed before Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi steps down in September, when his term as president of the Liberal Democratic Party expires, they said.
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