Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi meets Monday with senior members of the ruling coalition.

No schedule for the SDF dispatch is given, but they will be armed with antitank weapons.

Self-Defense Forces assisting Iraq will be heavily armed, but they will not leave this year as was originally envisaged, according to the gist of a basic dispatch plan that the Cabinet is to approve today.

The government Monday informed ruling coalition members that 500 to 700 Ground SDF troops will be involved in the enterprise. In addition, four C-130 Air SDF transport planes and other aircraft as well as five or six Maritime SDF vessels will be sent. Three transport ships will be included in the program.

Government officials explained that the dispatch will last from six months to one year. The gist says the mission will be completed in 2004, but it did not specify a month.

The remaining issue is when exactly the dispatch will take place. The draft plan does not mention a schedule, and ruling coalition partner New Komeito remains cautious about the dispatch of ground troops because of the deteriorating security situation in Iraq.

Concerns are less intense over plans for the ASDF. The government seeks to send 20 to 30 members as liaison officials to Kuwait and Qatar as the first part of the dispatch.

In mid-January, the C-130 planes will be sent to Kuwait, followed by a contingent of ASDF members going into Iraq, according to government officials.

The draft plan emphasizes that the SDF's mission is to help Iraq with reconstruction and humanitarian efforts.

At the same time, it states that SDF members will also provide the U.S. military with logistic support in peacekeeping activities. Officials said duties will include the transportation of U.S. weapons and ammunition.

The gist also specifies the type of weapons GSDF personnel will use to defend themselves in Iraq.

In addition to the handguns, rifles and machine guns carried by earlier SDF troops who joined United Nations-led peacekeeping efforts, those going to Iraq will be equipped with recoilless antitank guns as well as shoulder-mounted antitank weapons.

Both are intended to stop vehicles driven by suicide bombers from getting into SDF camps, sources said.

The GSDF will also have bulldozers and other equipment for building roads and schools, as well as armored vehicles.

ASDF personnel will be armed with handguns, rifles and machine guns to ensure their personal safety, according to the draft plan.

The gist of the plan also states that the SDF will be engaged in humanitarian efforts such as providing medical services, supplying water, repairing and rebuilding public facilities such as schools, and transporting aid supplies.

GSDF troops will be restricted to the Muthanna region in southeastern Iraq that includes the city of Samawah.

For its part, the ASDF will shuttle supplies into Iraq from Kuwait.

MSDF vessels will be used to transport the GSDF troops and their equipment to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

As outlined by the gist, government aid officials and civilians will provide medical services and assist in the repair and reconstruction of facilities, as well as improve water purification and supply facilities.

After the basic plan is approved by the Cabinet, details of the dispatch will be laid out by the Defense Agency chief, to be approved in turn by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. The defense chief will then order the SDF to Iraq.(IHT/Asahi: December 9,2003) (12/09)