AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, A Kuwait-based Japanese air force unit on July 31 made its first airlift to Baghdad for the multinational forces in Iraq, Japanese media said.
A C-130 transport plane carried soldiers and goods from an air force base in Kuwait to Baghdad airport, the Jiji Press news agency said.
Japanese ground troops were withdrawn from the southern Iraqi city of Samawa earlier this month. But Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi promised to keep operating its air force unit transporting goods and personnel for the U.S.-led coalition and the United Nations.
The unit began operating three C-130 planes between Kuwait and southern Iraq in March 2004 to carry goods and Japanese ground troops for non-combat, humanitarian assistance.
Despite strong objections at home, Koizumi
