December 9, 2003	Tuesday	Shawwal 14, 1424

TOKYO, Dec 8: Japanese opposition leaders on Monday vowed to prevent the dispatch of Japanese soldiers to Iraq, on the eve of an expected cabinet approval of the basic plan to send them to the country.

“Can we really stop terrorism by simply supporting the US-Britain-led occupation with Japanese soldiers dispatched there?” Democratic Party of Japan President Naoto Kan said in a speech in the bustling Ginza shopping district.

“Please speak out and work with us to stop the plan. The Koizumi government may approve its basic plan tomorrow, but we are expected to have about a month before the actual dispatch.

“We will do our utmost to stop the dispatch of the Self Defence Forces (military),” Kan said, without elaborating.

The cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is expected to approve its basic plan on Tuesday for sending Japanese soldiers to Iraq but stop short of saying when they would go.

“If our consultation (with the ruling parties) progresses as it is now, I think we can have the cabinet approval tomorrow,” Mr Koizumi told reporters.

The premier will hold a press conference after the cabinet approval to explain to the nation the reasons for the planned dispatch, reports said.

Local media said the plan would outline posting 500-700 ground troops to non-combat zones to give humanitarian help, such as providing purified water to local residents and building basic infrastructure.

But Kan said sending Japanese troops to Iraq may only result in spreading terrorism to Tokyo and to other parts of the world.

“We must have the United Nations, which can maintain a neutral political position, play the central role in rebuilding Iraq, rather than the United States and Britain,” he said.

The government proposal has faced massive public opposition, particularly since the killing late last month of two Japanese diplomats in Iraq.

According to a survey conducted by the national broadcaster Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK), 17 percent said the government should send troops as soon as possible, while 28 percent opposed the dispatch plan.

Some 53 percent said it should wait until the security situation improves in Iraq, it said, adding that 1,056 people responded to the survey, conducted from Friday through Sunday.

Public support for the Koizumi cabinet dropped to 46 percent, falling 10 points from a month, while the disapproval rating rose eight points to 44 percent, the survey said.

Two Japanese diplomats, Katsuhiko Oku and Masamori Inoue, and their Iraqi driver Jerges Salem were gunned down on Nov 29, in an ambush near the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit.

Japanese soldiers were likely to head to southern Iraq, particularly to Samawa city, where infrastructure had been long neglected during Saddam Hussein’s rule, Defence Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said on Sunday.

Tokyo considers that Samawa is relatively stable after studying a report submitted by a team of government investigators on the security situation there.

—AFP