Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba said Wednesday the government may send the core ground force to Iraq by the end of this month.
"The sooner, the better. It is likely we will dispatch them within this month, but I cannot say how high such chances are," Ishiba said during a news conference in Paris.
In Tokyo on Thursday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said the departure date will be finalized after analysis of a report by the advance Ground Self-Defense Force team, which is to leave Friday for Iraq.
The defense chief is on a six-day trip to Britain, the Netherlands and France to discuss international efforts to rebuild Iraq with European defense ministers. He is to return to Japan on Friday.
Ishiba's remark about sending the core unit this month came after he met with the defense ministers of Britain and the Netherlands.
After he receives the advance team's report, Koizumi is expected to approve the first deployment of Japanese troops since World War II to a country where hostilities are taking place. Advance teams of the Air Self-Defense Force are already deployed to Kuwait and Qatar.
On Thursday, Ishiba met French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie to discuss the reconstruction of Iraq.
Japanese officials said earlier that Ishiba planned to explain Tokyo's stance on the rebuilding of Iraq.
Ishiba and Alliot-Marie are also expected to discuss North Korean issues, the officials said. Given that France had strongly opposed the U.S.-led war on Iraq, Ishiba is expected to stress the importance of cooperation in the international community to fight terrorism.