Deployment of Japanese troops to Iraq
Encyclopedia
The Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group or also known as the refers to a battalion-sized, largely humanitarian contingent of the Japan Self-Defense Forces
that was sent to Samawah
, Southern Iraq
in early January 2004 and withdrawn by late July 2006.
Their duties had included tasks such as water purification, reconstruction and reestablishment of public facilities for the Iraqi people.
. This marks a significant turning point in Japan's history, as it represents the first foreign deployment of Japanese troops since the end of World War II
, excluding those deployments conducted under United Nations
auspices. Public opinion regarding the deployment was sharply divided, especially given that Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan prohibits the use of military forces unless for self-defence purposes (operating in Iraq seemed, at best, tenuously connected to that mission).
In order to legalize the deployment of Japanese forces in Samawah
, the Koizumi administration legislated the Humanitarian Relief and Iraqi Reconstruction Special Measures Law on December 9, 2003 in the Diet
, even though the opposition firmly opposed it.
Two Japanese diplomats were shot and killed near Tikrit
, Iraq on November 29, 2003 while preparations for the deployment were in their final stages.
In early April 2004, three Japanese- a journalist and two aid workers- were kidnapped, but they were released several days later on April 15. The following day, another two Japanese- an aid worker and a journalist- were kidnapped and released within 24 hours. The kidnappers of the original three had threatened to burn the hostages alive if Japanese troops were not removed from Iraq within three days. A spokeswoman for the Islamic Clerics Committee
, which negotiated their release, said that growing public calls in Japan for the SDF troops to be withdrawn from Iraq led to the release of three Japanese.
In a statement released on July 20, 2004, Al Zarqawi warned Japan, Poland and Bulgaria to withdraw their troops, demanding that the Japanese government: '...do what the Philippines has done...', and threatening that: 'Lines of cars laden with explosives are awaiting you...' if the demands were not met.
The body of a Japanese backpacker, Shosei Koda
, was found in Baghdad on October 30, 2004, several days after he had been kidnapped. His captors had promised to execute him unless Japanese troops were withdrawn. According to Channel NewsAsia, the killing renewed domestic pressure on Prime Minister Koizumi to bring the contingent home.
One Japanese private security guard, Akihiko Saito
, was killed in an ambush on his convoy on May 25, 2005.
At the height of the deployment, on September 19, 2005, a senior Defense Agency official succinctly gave his opinion on the future prospects for overseas Japanese military deployments, drawing on his opinion of the Iraq mission: "It isn’t worth it". Analysts said that the restrictive rules of engagement and reliance on the constant protection of others effectively renders meaningful Japanese participation in international operations impossible for the foreseeable future.
One opposition member had said that the JIRSG deployment "wouldn't be a problem if it really were for humanitarian reasons. But it is first and foremost a show of support to the U.S. The U.S. invaded Iraq without a U.N. resolution, and Japan is now aiding in that act."
Iraq.
The first elements of the contingent arrived in Kuwait on January 9 and January 17, 2004, after an advance team from the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces
(JASDF) assessed the security situation in Samawah in late December 2003 and to Kuwait
for the arrival of other JSDF forces to Iraq
. The first JGSDF troops arrived at the Dutch military base in Samawah on January 19.
Prime Minister Koizumi decided on December 8, 2005 to renew the contingent's mandate for another year, despite a poll by the Asahi newspaper which found that 69% of respondents were against renewing the mandate, up from 55% in January. A total of nine JIRSG scheduled rotations took place between 2004 to 2006.
Protection for the unit was provided primarily by Australian troops, as the Japanese soldiers were prohibited from engaging Iraqi guerrillas unless they came under fire. However, a small number of Japanese Special Forces Group, Western Infantry Army Regiment, and 1st Airborne Brigade
personnel were deployed to provide protection. Mortars and rockets were lobbed at the Japanese camp several times, causing no damage or injuries.
was established in May 2006, and Koizumi subsequently announced that forces could be withdrawn as early as the end of July given the completion of the mission.
Koizumi announced on June 20, 2006 that the Japanese contingent would be withdrawn within 'several dozen days', however he suggested expanding airborne logistical support from southern parts of the country to Baghdad in place of the ground force.
On June 25, the first batch of the 600-member contingent began to withdraw from Samawah to Kuwait. The last 220 troops left Iraq by July 18.
Although all Japanese soldiers have left Iraq, JASDF forces continue to play a minor support role. As of November 2006, JASDF transport aircraft were assisting coalition forces by airlifting materials and personnel between Iraq and Kuwait. The airlift mission was extended until July 31, 2007, at which point it was extended again for another two years. As of November 26, 2008, 671.1 tons of supplies have been transported since March 2004.
On April 17, 2008, Nagoya High Court ruled that dispatch of troops was partly unconstitutional.
Due to rising anti-Iraq war sentiment from the opposition, the Japanese government announced it JASDF forces in Kuwait would withdraw soon, though it was announced that the withdrawal was due to the improving security situation and the nearing expiration of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1790, which allows multinational forces to stay in Iraq until December 2008. The last JASDF forces left Kuwait on December 18, 2008.
Japan Self-Defense Forces
The , or JSDF, occasionally referred to as JSF or SDF, are the unified military forces of Japan that were established after the end of the post–World War II Allied occupation of Japan. For most of the post-war period the JSDF was confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed...
that was sent to Samawah
Samawah
Samawah or As Samawah is a city in Iraq, 280 kilometres southeast of Baghdad. .The city of Samawah is the modern capital of the Al Muthanna Governorate. The city is located midway between Baghdad and Basra, at the northern edge of the governorate...
, Southern Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
in early January 2004 and withdrawn by late July 2006.
Their duties had included tasks such as water purification, reconstruction and reestablishment of public facilities for the Iraqi people.
Background
The Koizumi administration originally ordered the controversial formation and deployment of the JIRSG at the request of the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. This marks a significant turning point in Japan's history, as it represents the first foreign deployment of Japanese troops since the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, excluding those deployments conducted under United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
auspices. Public opinion regarding the deployment was sharply divided, especially given that Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan prohibits the use of military forces unless for self-defence purposes (operating in Iraq seemed, at best, tenuously connected to that mission).
In order to legalize the deployment of Japanese forces in Samawah
Samawah
Samawah or As Samawah is a city in Iraq, 280 kilometres southeast of Baghdad. .The city of Samawah is the modern capital of the Al Muthanna Governorate. The city is located midway between Baghdad and Basra, at the northern edge of the governorate...
, the Koizumi administration legislated the Humanitarian Relief and Iraqi Reconstruction Special Measures Law on December 9, 2003 in the Diet
Diet of Japan
The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
, even though the opposition firmly opposed it.
Two Japanese diplomats were shot and killed near Tikrit
Tikrit
Tikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river . The town, with an estimated population in 2002 of about 260,000 is the administrative center of the Salah ad Din Governorate.-Ancient times:...
, Iraq on November 29, 2003 while preparations for the deployment were in their final stages.
In early April 2004, three Japanese- a journalist and two aid workers- were kidnapped, but they were released several days later on April 15. The following day, another two Japanese- an aid worker and a journalist- were kidnapped and released within 24 hours. The kidnappers of the original three had threatened to burn the hostages alive if Japanese troops were not removed from Iraq within three days. A spokeswoman for the Islamic Clerics Committee
Islamic Clerics Committee
The Islamic Clerics Committee is one of several grassroots leadership groups to rise out of the ashes of post-war Iraq. Representing the Sunni minority in the country, the group has used their considerable leverage to secure the release of more than 20 hostages in the early months of 2004...
, which negotiated their release, said that growing public calls in Japan for the SDF troops to be withdrawn from Iraq led to the release of three Japanese.
In a statement released on July 20, 2004, Al Zarqawi warned Japan, Poland and Bulgaria to withdraw their troops, demanding that the Japanese government: '...do what the Philippines has done...', and threatening that: 'Lines of cars laden with explosives are awaiting you...' if the demands were not met.
The body of a Japanese backpacker, Shosei Koda
Shosei Koda
Shosei Koda was a Japanese citizen who was kidnapped and later beheaded in Iraq on November 3, 2004 while touring the country. His parents were members of the United Church of Christ...
, was found in Baghdad on October 30, 2004, several days after he had been kidnapped. His captors had promised to execute him unless Japanese troops were withdrawn. According to Channel NewsAsia, the killing renewed domestic pressure on Prime Minister Koizumi to bring the contingent home.
One Japanese private security guard, Akihiko Saito
Akihiko Saito
Akihiko Saito was a Japanese security guard, who was taken hostage by the Jaish Ansar al-Sunna in Iraq in 2005, and later died in captivity of wounds he had received in the earlier gunbattle in which he was captured...
, was killed in an ambush on his convoy on May 25, 2005.
Significance
Analysts differ as to the political ramifications of the deployment. One view is that it represents the emergence of Japan as a close military ally of the United States, strategically positioned as a counterweight to China's growing regional power. This position asserts that the Iraq deployment offers a constitutional model for future overseas deployment in circumvention of Article 9. Another interpretation is that the deployment is entirely symbolic as it comes at little financial or human cost to the Koizumi administration, has a negligible effect on the strategic situation in Iraq, and is simply aimed at maintaining positive relations with the U.S. so as to perpetuate a favorable economic relationship.At the height of the deployment, on September 19, 2005, a senior Defense Agency official succinctly gave his opinion on the future prospects for overseas Japanese military deployments, drawing on his opinion of the Iraq mission: "It isn’t worth it". Analysts said that the restrictive rules of engagement and reliance on the constant protection of others effectively renders meaningful Japanese participation in international operations impossible for the foreseeable future.
One opposition member had said that the JIRSG deployment "wouldn't be a problem if it really were for humanitarian reasons. But it is first and foremost a show of support to the U.S. The U.S. invaded Iraq without a U.N. resolution, and Japan is now aiding in that act."
Deployment
Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, the city of Samawah has continuously been a relatively stable city, in what is probably the most peaceful and sparsely populated province of non-KurdishIraqi Kurdistan
Iraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
Iraq.
The first elements of the contingent arrived in Kuwait on January 9 and January 17, 2004, after an advance team from the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces
Japan Air Self-Defense Force
The , or JASDF, is the aviation branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace and other aerospace operations. The JASDF carries out combat air patrols around Japan, while also maintaining an extensive network of ground and air early warning radar systems...
(JASDF) assessed the security situation in Samawah in late December 2003 and to Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
for the arrival of other JSDF forces to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. The first JGSDF troops arrived at the Dutch military base in Samawah on January 19.
Prime Minister Koizumi decided on December 8, 2005 to renew the contingent's mandate for another year, despite a poll by the Asahi newspaper which found that 69% of respondents were against renewing the mandate, up from 55% in January. A total of nine JIRSG scheduled rotations took place between 2004 to 2006.
Protection for the unit was provided primarily by Australian troops, as the Japanese soldiers were prohibited from engaging Iraqi guerrillas unless they came under fire. However, a small number of Japanese Special Forces Group, Western Infantry Army Regiment, and 1st Airborne Brigade
1st Airborne Brigade (Japan)
The , also known as the Narashino Airborne Brigade , is stationed in the Narashino Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces Base in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture. It is part of the Eastern Army in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force...
personnel were deployed to provide protection. Mortars and rockets were lobbed at the Japanese camp several times, causing no damage or injuries.
Withdrawal
Although Defense Agency officials initially denied a report that the JSDF would be withdrawing from Iraq, they eventually confirmed that the contingent would leave Iraq by March 2006. Officials, however, subsequently insisted that any withdrawal would hinge on the ability of the Iraqis to form a new government by the end of 2006. A united Iraqi governmentPolitics of Iraq
The politics of Iraq takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic. It is a multi-party system whereby the executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers as the head of government, as well as the President of Iraq, and...
was established in May 2006, and Koizumi subsequently announced that forces could be withdrawn as early as the end of July given the completion of the mission.
Koizumi announced on June 20, 2006 that the Japanese contingent would be withdrawn within 'several dozen days', however he suggested expanding airborne logistical support from southern parts of the country to Baghdad in place of the ground force.
On June 25, the first batch of the 600-member contingent began to withdraw from Samawah to Kuwait. The last 220 troops left Iraq by July 18.
Although all Japanese soldiers have left Iraq, JASDF forces continue to play a minor support role. As of November 2006, JASDF transport aircraft were assisting coalition forces by airlifting materials and personnel between Iraq and Kuwait. The airlift mission was extended until July 31, 2007, at which point it was extended again for another two years. As of November 26, 2008, 671.1 tons of supplies have been transported since March 2004.
On April 17, 2008, Nagoya High Court ruled that dispatch of troops was partly unconstitutional.
Due to rising anti-Iraq war sentiment from the opposition, the Japanese government announced it JASDF forces in Kuwait would withdraw soon, though it was announced that the withdrawal was due to the improving security situation and the nearing expiration of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1790, which allows multinational forces to stay in Iraq until December 2008. The last JASDF forces left Kuwait on December 18, 2008.
Commanders
- (Formerly Lieutenant Colonel) Colonel Masahisa Sato - Commander of advance JGSDF forces (January 16, 2004 - February 27, 2004)
- Colonel Koichiro Bansho - 2nd Commander of JGSDF forces (February 27, 2004 - May 26, 2004)
- Colonel Yuki Imaura - 3rd Commander of JGSDF forces (May 26, 2004 - ?)
- Colonel Masato Taura - 4th Commander of JGSDF forces?
Unit Deployments
| Contingent | Deployment |
|---|---|
| 1st Contingent | February 3 - May 26, 2004 |
| 2nd Contingent | May 27 - August 29, 2004 |
| 3rd Contingent | August 30 - December 5, 2004 |
| 4th Contingent | August 30, 2004 - February 27, 2005 |
| 5th Contingent | February 28 - May 27, 2005 |
| 6th Contingent | May 28 - August 22, 2005 |
| 7th Contingent | August 23 - November 11, 2005 |
| 8th Contingent | November 12, 2005 - February 17, 2006 |
| 9th Contingent | February 18 - May 25, 2006 |
| 10th Contingent | May 26 - July 16, 2006 |
See also
- Multinational force in IraqMultinational force in IraqThe Multi-National Force – Iraq was a military command, led by the United States, which was responsible for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Multi-National Force – Iraq replaced the previous force, Combined Joint Task Force 7, on 15 May 2004, and was later itself reorganized into its successor, United...
- Post-invasion Iraq, 2003–present
- Al Muthanna Task GroupAl Muthanna Task GroupThe Al Muthanna Task Group was a battlegroup that formed Australia's main ground force contribution to the Multinational force in Iraq. The AMTG was established in April 2005 and ceased to exist in July 2006 when the Australian force was relocated to Dhi Qar Governorate as Overwatch Battle Group...
- Overwatch Battle Group (West)Overwatch Battle Group (West)Overwatch Battle Group was an Australian Army battlegroup that represented Australia's largest contribution to the Multinational force in Iraq. The Battle Group was established in July 2006 and was based at Tallil Airbase in Dhi Qar Governorate....
- Dancon/IrakDancon/IrakDancon/Irak is short for Danish Contingent/Irak, and was the designated name for the Danish ground contingent deployed to Iraq from June 2003 to July 2007.-History:...