[T]he overwhelming public response has been that Japan should not cave in. An online poll conducted by the left-leaning Mainichi newspaper on Friday, showed that 70 per cent supported the government’s decision to keep the SDF in Iraq, while 26 per cent thought it should leave the country.
“It is not possible to retreat without achieving the main purpose of sending the SDF [to help rebuild Iraq], so the government’s decision is right,” says Satoshi Morimoto, professor of International Development at Takushoku University.
“There are many people who believe that it is important [for the SDF to stay and] ensure that Iraq does not fall into chaos,” says Gen Nakatani, former defence minister and a Liberal Democratic party member of parliament.