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Japan starts withdrawing air force from Iraqi mission
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-15 20:46

TOKYO -- Japan on Monday began pulling its Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) transport unit out of Kuwait as the four-year-and-nine-month Iraqi airlift mission of the ASDF ended last week, the defense ministry said. 

Japan's Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada has ordered an end to its air mission in Iraq, a historic but deeply unpopular military deployment for the pacifist nation. [Agencies]

On November 28, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada announced the withdrawal of the ASDF following the decision made by Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Cabinet ministers concerned at a meeting of the national security council earlier in the day.

The ASDF began airlifting activities in Iraq in March 2004 and continued its mission in Iraq after the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) troops went back to Japan in 2006.

Deploying around 200 personnel, the ASDF has operated mainly from an airbase in Kuwait, using three C-130 transport planes.

The ASDF transport unit was responsible for airlifting troops and materials for the US-led multinational forces as well as for the United Nations to three airports in Iraq, including the country's capital, Baghdad.