Japan to end military involvement in Iraq

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is ending its military involvement in Iraq, announcing on Friday the withdrawal of an air force mission that flies supplies into the country in support of U.S.-led forces.

The announcement, which comes a day after Iraq's parliament approved an agreement paving the way for U.S. forces to withdraw by 2011, will end Tokyo's military involvement in Iraq, long dogged by accusations that it breached the pacifist constitution.

The move will also focus attention on whether Japan steps up its support for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, something Japanese media says Washington has pressed Tokyo to do.

It is also considering joining naval patrols against pirates hijacking ships off Somalia.

"The government has decided to end the Air Self-Defense Force's transportation mission in Iraq this year, given that we believe it has fulfilled its purpose," Prime Minister Taro Aso said in a statement.

"I am proud that the Self-Defense Forces are carrying out their duties, despite difficult conditions," he added.

Japan, whose military activities are curtailed by its constitution, refers to its military as Self-Defense Forces.

A Japanese court ruled the Iraqi mission, which began in 2004, was in breach of the post-war constitution, but the ruling was not binding. Japan also sent 600 ground troops to southern Iraq, but withdrew them in 2006.

While the air force mission will end by the end of the year, Aso said Japan would continue its support for Iraq in other ways such as loans, technology transfers and political ties.

The United States has asked Japan to provide air transport in Afghanistan, Japanese media have reported.

But for the moment, Aso's government is struggling to pass a bill continuing its existing marine refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of Washington's Afghanistan operations.

That mission was suspended for a time last year because parliament's opposition-dominated upper house blocked the bill.

Japan is also mulling a law to allow it to send warships to join other countries in patrolling off Somalia, where pirate attacks have become increasingly brazen.

Several attacks have affected ships linked with Japan, which buys the vast bulk of its oil from the Middle East.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Rodney Joyce)