The Ground Self-Defense Force will withdraw from southern Iraq by the end of May as Britain and Australia pull their forces out of the area under a plan agreed to by the United States, government sources said Monday.
At the same time, Japan is considering expanding the Air Self-Defense Force's Kuwait-based mission in response to Washington's request for more assistance in airlifting U.S. soldiers and supplies to and from bases in Iraq, the sources said.
The roughly 600 GSDF troops in the city of Samawah will begin to pack up in mid-March. The GSDF camp will not be dismantled and Japan plans to hand the facility over to local residents, according to the sources.