Japan appears more likely to delay sending troops to Iraq after the bombing of U.N. offices in Baghdad, with a defense official saying on Thursday no date has been set for a survey mission to pave the way for the dispatch. Tokyo's decision to send troops for a humanitarian mission had already prompted worries in Japan for their safety, but these have been fanned by Tuesday's suicide bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Iraq, which left at least 20 dead. Officials had said a final decision on the role of Japanese troops would be made after a fact-finding mission surveyed the situation in Iraq. The survey mission was expected to go this month, which would have paved the way for troops to be dispatched in October. A Defense Ministry spokesman said: "Nothing has been decided about the survey. The situation is still very fluid."
Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters late on Wednesday that dispatching troops this year could be difficult. "Sending them within the year may be possible, but it's a fact that they are unlikely to be dispatched soon," he was quoted by the Yomiuri Shimbun as saying. "It will take some time for security to improve." But the Asahi Shimbun's English edition said bloodshed since President Bush declared major combat operations over on May 1 has frightened Japanese officials so badly that even the fact-finding survey has been postponed indefinitely. The Asahi quoted government sources as saying that if Japanese troops are sent to Iraq at all it will be next year at the earliest.
"Difficult" translated into Japanese: "Muzukashii". The meaning of "Muzukashii" is "Cannot do". |