Japan's main ruling party decided today to keep non-combat troops in Iraq for up to a year after their current mandate expires next week.
But the government's plan specifies that Japan will pay close attention to the international forces in Iraq, a hint at a likely withdrawal before the year is up, media reports have said.
With their activities strictly limited by Japan's pacifist constitution, the 550 or so ground troops based in the southern Iraqi city of Samawa rely on British and Australian forces to maintain security in the area.
Japan's dispatch - the military's riskiest since World War Two - has won praise from close ally Washington, but is opposed by most Japanese voters.
In a Japanese newspaper poll published in October, 77 per cent of those surveyed said they were against an extension of the mandate.