TOKYO, June 18: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is considering announcing an end to Japan’s military mission in Iraq ahead of his meeting with US President George W. Bush later this month, the foreign minister said on Sunday.

Asked if Mr Koizumi would announce the withdrawal in time for the planned June 29 summit, Taro Aso said in a television interview: “We are considering it. If conditions are met, that’s possible.”

Mr Koizumi, who will visit Canada and the United States from June 27 to July 1 before his term in office ends in September, expects to announce the pullout as early as Wednesday, news reports have said.

Under the constitution, Japanese troops are barred from combat and are protected in part by soldiers from Britain, which has told Tokyo it would transfer authority in the area next week to Iraqi troops, the reports said.

The humanitarian mission first launched in 2003 marks the first time since World War II that Japan has sent armed forces to a country where fighting is under way.—AFP