| Japan's Cabinet on Friday approved a plan for Japanese troops now in Iraq on a humanitarian mission to remain as part of a multinational force after an interim government takes control. The Cabinet's decision would let more than 500 Japanese soldiers continue their reconstruction work in southern Iraq, where they have been purifying water, rebuilding schools and providing other humanitarian support, Kyodo News agency said. It would also mean that hundreds of other military personnel shipping supplies into Iraq from neighboring countries would remain, the report said. Japan's Jiji News carried a similar report. Earlier this month, the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution allowing a multinational force to remain in Iraq until 2006 to provide security after the transfer of power to an interim Iraqi government on June 30 this year. |