Japan has decided to postpone sending a team of civilian specialists to help rebuild Iraq following the weekend slaying of two Japanese diplomats in the country’s north, a daily said. Tokyo had initially planned to send dozens of civilians, including engineers, doctors and nurses, to Baghdad, Basra and Mosul by the end of this year. But the killing of the diplomats Saturday as they were laying the ground for the arrival of the technical team has prompted the administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to put the mission on hold, the Asahi Shimbun said, quoting government sources. The dispatch would be delayed until there is a “marked improvement” in security in Iraq, the major daily said. Full Story