The chief of staff of the Ground Self-Defense Force visited a GSDF camp here Friday to raise the morale of troops tasked with providing reconstruction assistance.
Gen. Hajime Massaki, the first top-ranking official of the Defense Agency or the Self-Defense Forces to visit Samawah, told a news conference at the camp that he was relieved to see his personnel were all safe.
Back in Tokyo, however, Defense Agency officials were criticized for leading the agency's press club to believe Thursday that Massaki was still in Japan; in fact, he had already departed for Iraq.
The chief of staff of the GSDF holds a regular news conference every Thursday at 3:30 p.m.