TOKYO, April 20 (UPI) -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday Japan will keep ita 550 Self-Defense Forces in Iraq.
Honduran President Ricardo Maduro Joest said Monday he was pulling his troops out of Iraq, where they working under Spanish military command, the Kyodo News Service reported. And Spain's new prime minister, Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, also said he would withdraw Spain's 1.300 troops in Iraq.
Koizumi, a strong supporter of the U.S. government's actions in Iraq, told reporters Tuesday Honduras "has its own situation."
Japan's Defense Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba said Spain's plan to withdraw its troops "will not change our country's policy."
Japan's SDF members are stationed in Samawah, where they are providing medical aid and clean water to local citizens.
