The Ground Self-Defense Force's mission to Iraq may not be supported by all of the public, as evidenced by the protest rallies staged nationwide last year as the government readied the dispatch.

But in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, home to most of the initial troop contingent, the yellow handkerchiefs displayed everywhere when the troops departed for Iraq in February suggest most of the city is behind them and praying for their safe return.

A big factor behind this support, according to some locals, may be the genial personality of Lt. Gen. Yoshihisa Kono, commander of the GSDF Second Division and a good friend of Asahikawa Mayor Koichi Sugawara.