Japanese Critics File Suit on Deployment

[La_Serpiente]

Japanese Critics File Suit on Deployment

TOKYO - Critics of Japan's deployment of troops in Iraq (news - web sites) filed suit against the government Monday, saying it violates the nation's pacifist constitution, officials said.

The lawsuit, filed in Nagoya in central Japan, the 1,262 plaintiffs demand an end to the mission and nearly $100 each in compensation for mental suffering caused by the deployment, which they said violates their constitutional rights to live in peace, said plaintiff Yoshinori Ikezumi.

Former Postal Minister Noboru Minowa filed a similar suit in January, but Monday's lawsuit is the first group action against Japan's mission in Iraq.

Japan is deploying about 1,000 military personnel, including air and naval forces, in Iraq to help rebuild the country. The mission is non-combat and is aimed at purifying water and other tasks.

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Japanese Critics File Suit on Deployment