The government Tuesday approved a basic plan to dispatch Self-Defense Forces units to Iraq, paving the way for the deployment of up to 600 ground troops in southeastern Iraq early next year.
The plan, endorsed at a Cabinet meeting in the afternoon, stipulates that SDF personnel will engage in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in areas centering around Al-Muthanna Province during a one-year period starting Monday.
The plan does not specify, however, when the troops will actually be sent. It is expected that Air Self-Defense Force personnel will be sent first, in January, followed by a dispatch of Ground Self-Defense Force units in February.