School children basking in the media attention

When the Japanese military arrived in Iraq on Jan. 16, they were heralded as saviours. Their promise of technology and prosperity was eagerly welcomed by the Iraqi people. But as the first month went by without visible Japanese activity, impatience started to take over.

Consequent projects were given full media attention. Ranging from donating water trucks, incubators and school supplies to repairing schools, roads and bridges, everything was turned into a media spectacle.

During the first month inventory was taken on the condition of the Al Muthanna province, while construction was started on their camp. The Dutch troops showed the Japanese around and introduced them to the key figures in the area. The initial Japanese camp of 90,000 square meters was expanded to 640,000 square meters, and all the basic facilities, such as a dispensary and a mess hall, were put in place. The small tents made way for prefab houses and airconditioned tents, and showers and baths were put into use.

Then, on Apr. 5, things started to go south. The Shiite extremist Muqtada Al-Sadr launched a nationwide assault on the coalition forces. Heavy fighting ensued in Al Kut, An Nasiriyah and Baghdad. The only area that seemed unaffected was the Al Muthanna province. This relative peace ended when three mortar grenades were fired at the Japanese camp at eleven at night on Apr. 7.

Japanese soldiers scrambled for cover behind cars and in ditches. The Dutch camp, which is a mere five kilometers away, was immediately informed of the attack.

The attack ended as quickly as it began. All three mortars missed the camp and there were no casualties. Patrols were sent out by the Dutch battlegroup and after several hours the bunker alert was ended. The Japanese, however, stayed in cover throughout the night. Not being part of the coalition forces and having certain rules of engagement which limit their actions to self defence only, they didn't send out patrols until the next morning.

The following day three Japanese civilians were taken hostage in Baghdad, and were threatened to be executed if the Japanese didn't withdraw its troops within three days. Because the decision not to leave was obvious from the very beginning, there was great concern for the hostages. Fortunately all hostages were released unharmed after a week and a half.

That same day the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) house in As Samawah was attacked. The local representative of Al-Sadr, who had not taken any action against the Dutch or Japanese, had been replaced by a more extremist supporter. This replacement fled after having fired one shot at the CPA building.

A Japanese Wheeled Armoured Personnel Carrier (WAPC) escorting a convoy.

The religious leader of the area called for peace in his sermon to the Samawah people. All remained quiet after that, but the Japanese abandoned all humanitarian activity in the area, only traveling between the Japanese camp and the CPA, out of precaution.

When two weeks later the Japanese bunker alert was lifted, the Dutch camp fell victim to a mortar attack. As a result the bunker alert in the Japanese camp was immediately reinstated.

During a meeting the following day between Colonel Bansho and the Dutch commander Van Harskamp, where they discussed the problems created by the Japanese media when they published the news of the attack before the Dutch Minister of Defence could be informed, the Dutch expressed their concern over the absence of activity of the Japanese troops in the area, which was being understood by the Iraqis as fear. A few days after this meeting the Japanese resumed their humanitarian activities.

In the night of Apr. 28 and 29 the Japanese camp was fired upon again. This time however the Japanese immediately sent out patrols, and the Dutch who had been informed of the attack, fired some light grenades in support of the search for the attackers in accordance with their standard operating procedure. Unfortunately the attackers managed to escape.

The Dutch mandate ends mid July, and the Dutch government has yet to decide whether they wish to extend their stay in Iraq. Whether the Japanese will continue their efforts in Al Muthanna should the Dutch leave is yet to be seen, as they cannot maintain the security of the province by themselves due to their limiting rules of engagement.

The men have mixed feelings about going home. While some are happy to be leaving Iraq and being reunited with their families, many wish they had had the opportunity to do more. One soldier, whose name will be kept confidential for obvious reasons, mentioned jokingly that on the one hand he was glad to go home to see his children, but that on the other he didn't look forward to meeting his wife. The first of the second detachment have already arrived in As Samawah after a period of acclimatization in Kuwait. There is still a lot of work to do for the Japanese.