Japanese troops will spend extra year in Iraq

[Tab]

TOKYO - Japan's cabinet decided Thursday to extend the country's deployment of non-combat troops in Iraq by one more year.

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said the deployment was extended to Dec. 14, 2005, after consultation with the two main parties in the ruling coalition.

Koizumi is a strong supporter of the U.S.-led invasion of the country, which led to the ouster of leader Saddam Hussein in March 2003.

About 550 Japanese troops are on a reconstruction mission in the southern Iraqi town of Samawa, helping purify water and rebuild the town's infrastructure.

Several hundred more Japanese troops are supporting the mission from nearby countries in the Persian Gulf.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/12/09/japan-troops-041209.html

[talk hard]

1. Freakin' Bush butt-kissers.

[Art_from_Ark]

2. Notice that Koizumi didn't consult with anyone

in the opposition parties