military

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

SDF deployment in Iraq costs 76 billion yen

It has cost Japan about 76 billion yen to have its Self-Defense Forces stationed in Iraq until the end of April.

Japanese Communist Party House of Representatives member Akamine Seiken found this fact in a document obtained from the Defense Agency, Akahata reported on July 20.

The document shows the actual expenditure for the SDF deployment between FY 2003 when the government decided to dispatch the SDF to the region and April 30 of this year.

The amount does not include the cost for the withdrawal of the Ground SDF from Samawah that completed on July 17. The cost will be covered by the12 billion yen allocated in the FY 2006 budget for SDF activities in Iraq.

In order to cover the cost of the Air SDF that remains in Iraq to support U.S. "operations," 2.6 billion yen is appropriated in the FY 2006 budget.

If the ASDF deployment continues, the government will have to pay additional costs from its reserves.
- Akahata, July 20, 2006