The government's plan to send Self-Defense Forces troops to Iraq hits close to home for many people in Hokkaido because many of those who might be deployed are believed stationed here.
Following news that two Japanese diplomats in Iraq were slain Nov. 29, the wives of Ground Self-Defense Force members here were uniformly tight-lipped and declined comment.
The assassinations also sent shock waves through local peace groups because they know some of the troops personally.
"We still cannot evaluate the situation because we also hope to cooperate with Iraq's reconstruction," by means other than sending the SDF, Kiyokazu Koshida, an organizer of peace rallies in Sapporo, said the day after the diplomats were killed.