Amid persistent opposition at home to the country's first military deployment in a hostile region since World War II, the 110 airmen in camouflaged uniform left the Komaki airbase outside Nagoya, central Japan, in a government jumbo jet for Kuwait.

They will be based there, joining a 40-strong advance airforce party for a mission to airlift goods and humanitarian aid to Iraq.

"You are obliged to demonstrate your spirit to uphold the Hinomaru (national flag) on your left shoulder," General Seiji Kagawa, commander of the air support group charged with the Iraq mission, said at a send-off ceremony attended by servicemen's families and shown on NHK television.

"I hope you will complete your mission although there may arise problems which are unthinkable at home," he added.

Colonel Hironobu Mizoguchi, the leader of the contingent, declared that his 110-strong unit was set to depart.

Their comrades and families, some of them wiping away tears, waved small national flags during ceremony beside the huge aircraft.

A smaller airforce group is to depart Komaki on C-130 transport planes next Monday, bringing the total number of Japanese airmen based in Kuwait to some 200, according to press reports.

Japan has already dispatched three advance teams to Kuwait and the southern Iraqi city of Samawa since late December, including a 30-strong ground force advance unit.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is expected to formally order the dispatch of main ground-force contingents to southern Iraq as early as Monday, despite persistent fears of violence againt them.

Outside the suburban base, some 400 students and activists rallied in protest at the deployment, the Kyodo news agency said.

In parliament, Koizumi continued to reject opposition criticism that the deployment violated Japan's post-war constitution which bans the use of force in settling international disputes.

China and other neighbouring Asian countries have warned against a revival of Japanese militarism which haunted the region during the last world war.

Koizumi has insisted that the mission to provide reconstruction and humanitarian support, including work on the water supply, is part of Japan's responsibility as a member of the international community and in the national interest.

The ground force is expected to airlift 80 ground troops to Samawa by the end of January to begin constructing a basecamp, press reports said.

It will then send some 440 more in February and March, with logistic support from around 400 airforce and naval personnel in the region.

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