Japan may send the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) to Iraq by the end of this year despite escalating bloody attacks there and bomb threats against Tokyo.  

The government is considering to send C-130 transport planes to convey US troops from Kuwait to several airports in Iraq, including the national airport in Baghdad, Kyodo News quoted an unidentified senior Defense Agency official as saying Sunday.

The plan is drawn because demand for air transportation services remains high in Iraq, Kyodo said.

At the same time, the agency has decided to start training immediately for the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) on how to handle terror attacks and hostage incidents, Kyodo reported.

The GSDF Northern Army, expected to be the main force to be sent to Iraq, will learn about combat rules regarding such situations as suicide bombings, rocket attacks and people taken into custody.

Under a law passed in July, Japan is set to send the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) to Iraq on reconstruction mission. But deteriorating security in Iraq has forced the government to reconsider the timing of the dispatch which would start as early as this year. In addition, terrorists have threatened bomb attacks on Japanese interests and its capital city once the SDF sets foot on Iraq.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi stopped short of specifying a timetable at a press conference shortly after he resumed a fresh term Wednesday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda has suggested that the SDF would not embark by the end of this year.

(Xinhua News Agency November 24, 2003)