Japanese PM declines comment on Spain

TOKYO, April 19 (UPI) -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi declined to comment Monday on Spain's pullout of troops from Iraq.

"Spain has its own situation," the premier told reporters.

Spain's new prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, announced Sunday he would pull 1,300 Spanish troops from Iraq. Zapatero's predecessor, Jose Maria Aznar, had committed troops after siding with U.S. President George W. Bush on the war.

Koizumi also backed Bush in the war in Iraq and sent Self-Defense Forces troops to the southern Iraqi city of Samawah to provide humanitarian and reconstruction assistance, the Kyodo news service reported.