In 2004, the Japanese government ordered a deployment of troops to Iraq at the behest of the United States: A contingent of the Japan Self-Defence Forces was sent in order to assist the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. This controversial deployment marked a significant turning point in Japan's history as it is the first time since the end of World War II that Japan sent troops abroad except for a few minor UN peacekeeping deployments.

Public opinion regarding this deployment was sharply divided, especially given that Japan's military is constitutionally structured as solely a self-defense force, and operating in Iraq seemed at best tenuously connected to that mission. The Koizumi administration, however, decided to send troops to respond to a request from the US.

The divided nature of Japanese public opinion was also taken advantage of by Iraqi insurgents. In April 2004, three Japanese, one journalist and two volunteers workers, were kidnapped. They were released on April 15 [1] (http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20040416a1.htm), while an unconfirmed report said two Japanese journalists appeared to be kidnapped near Baghdad. [2] (http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20040416a2.htm). The kidnappers of the original three threatened to burn the hostages alive if Japanese troops were not removed from Iraq within three days. The release of the hostages was negotiated by the Islamic Clerics Committee, who have been responsible for the release of more than 20 hostages during the war.

See also: U.S.-led occupation of Iraq