Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi gave the final go-ahead Monday for the main contingent of Ground Self-Defense Force troops to be deployed to Iraq.
The move paves the way for a full-fledged Japanese military deployment aimed at helping to rebuild the war-ravaged nation.
With Koizumi's nod, Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba later ordered the GSDF to dispatch an estimated 520 troops to the southern Iraqi city of Samawah.