Japan says too early to decide Iraq troop pullout
Japan said on Thursday it had yet to decide when to withdraw its non-combat ground troops from Iraq despite a report that it was discussing with Washington and London its plans to start pulling them out next month. “We are not in a situation where we can make a decision in advance on the timing of ending the activities of the Self-Defence Forces,” top government spokesman Shinzo Abe said, using the term by which Japan refers to its military. Full Story