Koizumi urged to pull troops out of Iraq

A civic group member shows a newspaper which carries pictures of the three Japanese hostages in Iraq during a rally demanding withdrawal of Japanese troops from Iraq in front of the Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo yesterday. A terror-linked group has kidnapped three Japanese nationals in Iraq and threatened to kill them if Japanese troops were not pulled out. PHOTO: AFP

Some of them also protested against the arrival of US Vice President Dick Cheney here later in the day on an Asian tour as Koizumi's refusal to withdraw troops is seen as linked to his strong alliance with Washington.

The militants, who belong to an unknown group "Mujahedeen Brigades," have threatened to kill the captives, two volunteer workers and a photojournalist, if the 550 Japanese troops do not move out of Iraq by 1200 GMT Sunday.

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"The lives of people are more important than the Japan-US alliance," the demonstrators shouted in chorus as they were prevented by police from crossing the street to the prime minister's official residence in the centre of Tokyo.

"Cheney, don't come!", "Pull down the star-spangled banner!" some demonstrators cried as Japanese and US national flags adorned downtown streets ahead of Cheney's trip which will also take him to South Korea and China.

The rally brought together various citizens' groups and labour unions as well as opposition politicians and Buddhist monks who have been opposed to this first deployment of Japanese troops since World War II in a country where fighting is under way.