The mass-circulation Yomiuri Shimbun said the government had persuaded coalition allies including the Buddhist-oriented party New Komeito to extend the domestically unpopular mission, which is set to expire on December 14.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is expected to make the final decision in early December to extend the deployment, the Yomirui said, quoting anonymous government sources.

Some 550 troops are in non-combat operations in the southern city of Samawa in Japan's first military deployment since World War II to a country of active combat.

Most of Iraq is under a state of emergency amid mounting security concerns due to the US-led offensive on Fallujah. But the Japanese government does not see a major impact on Samawa, the Yomirui said.

Instead, Japan "expects Iraq's security situation to improve if the United States inflicts considerable damage on the insurgents," the daily said.

Japan, a close US ally, also wants to show its commitment to rebuild Iraq as the country elects a new administration next year and does not foresee changes in US policy toward Iraq after President George W. Bush's re-election, the report said.

The Yomiuri said the government was arranging a five-day trip by Defence Agency chief Yoshinori Ono to the United States and Britain from November 19.

Ono is expected to meet his US and British counterparts Donald Rumsfeld and Geoff Hoon to discuss the security situation of Iraq, it said.

Recent opinion polls have showed a majority of Japanese oppose extending the mission. Five Japanese have been killed in Iraq: two diplomats, two journalists and a backpacker who was kidnapped and beheaded last month.