The government plans to send 30 Ground Self-Defense Force members and eight light-armored vehicles to Iraq later this month to assess local security before the dispatch of the main GSDF troop contingent, officials said Tuesday.
The plan was presented by senior Foreign Ministry and Defense Agency officials during an afternoon meeting with the secretaries general of the Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, New Komeito.
The LDP said it basically agrees with the plan, but New Komeito Secretary General Tetsuzo Fuyushiba said his party will withhold a final decision until its senior officials meet Thursday.