Japan, Kuwait conclude agreement on troop management

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, December 24, 2003

Japan, Kuwait conclude agreement on troop management

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The Japanese Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday Japan and Kuwait have concluded a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) on the management and operation of Japan'sSelf-Defense Forces (SDF) troops to be stationed in the Middle Eastern country.

It is the first time for Japan to conclude a SOFA over the dispatch of the SDF to a foreign country.

Under the agreement, SDF personnel will be exempt from criminalprosecution in Kuwait, the ministry said.

A Japanese Air Self-Defense Force team is expected to help transport food and medical supplies from Kuwait to Baghdad and elsewhere in Iraq, according to the ministry.

Japan to hold send-off ceremony for ASDF dispatch to Iraq

The Japanese government will hold a send-off ceremony for the Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) advance team in central Japan's Aichi Prefecture on Wednesday afternoon ahead of its dispatch to Iraq later this month.

According to Kyodo News, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba will attend the ceremony for the advance team which will prepare for full-fledged activities in Iraq's reconstruction.

The team was formed following the ASDF dispatch order given by Ishiba on Friday to Seiji Kagawa, commander of the Air Support Command.

Members were chosen from around the country, but mainly from the Komaki base where the ASDF C-130 transport aircraft unit is stationed.

The team will be sent by the end of the month, Kyodo News said,adding that it will assess the local security situation in Iraq before the core ASDF units comprising about 150 members are dispatched as early as by late January.

The core units will help transport food and medical supplies between Kuwait and Baghdad and the other airports in Iraq.

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