Democratic Party of Japan leader Naoto Kan urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday to step down, claiming he has violated the Constitution by dispatching the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq.

Kan said the dispatch violates the Constitution because it puts the SDF at risk of being embroiled in a conflict. The Constitution prohibits Japan from having a military or using force to settle international disputes.

Advance teams from the Air Self-Defense Force and Ground Self-Defense Force have already been sent to Iraq, and the main units are expected to follow.