Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi indicated Wednesday he will keep Japanese troops in Iraq despite the worsening security situation there.

Asked about the possibility of reviewing the operations of the Self-Defense Forces troops, Koizumi told reporters, "I will continue to do my best to have reconstruction assistance activities implemented."

Koizumi also rebutted criticisms against his branding the kidnappers of three Japanese civilians in Iraq as "terrorists," saying the crime is "unforgivable."

"Kidnapping is an unforgivable crime and one should refrain from behavior that is in favor of such criticism," he said.

Kyodo News quoted Muhammad Ayash al-Kubaisi, a member of the Islamic Clerics Association in Iraq, as saying Tuesday that he personally believes Koizumi's branding the hostage-takers as "terrorist" last week resulted in the delay of the release of the hostages.

Last Friday, a day after the hostage-taking incident surfaced, Koizumi flatly rejected the group's demand to pull Japanese troopsout of Iraq, saying Japan will not bow to any despicable threat byterrorists.

Qatar-based satellite news channel Al-Jazeera reported Saturdaynight Iraqi time that the armed group said in a statement it wouldfree the Japanese in 24 hours. But there have been no developmentssince.

Source: Xinhua