Japan Plans to Withdraw Troops From Iraq in December

TOKYO (AP) - Japan will withdraw its 550 soldiers from their non-combat mission in Iraq in December, according to a media report Wednesday.


Tokyo will notify other countries participating in the peacekeeping mission in Iraq as early as September and then shift its contribution to financial assistance, Kyodo News agency said, quoting sources it did not identify.

Several American allies - including Ukraine, the Netherlands and Spain - have started pulling their troops from Iraq, and Poland has said it will withdraw its soldiers by year's end unless the U.N. Security Council renewed their mandate.