By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Japanese government is planning to extend its military air mission in Iraq until next July when the law authorizing the current mission expires later this year, a news report said Tuesday.
Japan sent about 600 troops to Iraq in support of the U.S.-led coalition in 2004.
A special law was required to authorize the deployment - Japan's largest military mission since World War II - because the country's post-World War II pacifist Constitution bans it from using force to settle international disputes.
The government is now considering extending the operation until July 31, the Yomiuri newspaper said.