Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi announced his country will withdraw its troops from southern Iraq saying that the soldiers have completed their non-combat mission.
The speech, made on national television, marks the end of Japan's largest military operation since the end of World War II.
No exact timetable for the withdrawal of Japanese troops was announced but earlier on Tuesday, Defense Chief Fukushiro Nukaga told reporters it would likely be completed in 'several dozen days.'
The prime minister emphasized that Japan would continue to provide aide to the new Iraqi government.
Japan becomes the latest member of President Bush's small coalition to end its military involvement in Iraq. Presently, there are 600 Japanese troops stationed in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah. Their primary purpose is to help with the rebuilding of the area's infrastructure.
Polls indicate that most Japanese citizens opposed their country's involvement in the Iraq War. In addition, most felt it violated the country's 1947 Constitution which was drafted by the United States and prohibits the use of force to settle international disputes.
No Japanese troops were killed in Iraq, although seven Japanese citizens have been kidnapped and two of them were murdered by insurgents.
