Four opposition groups in the upper house of parliament submitted consecutive non-binding censure motions against three ministers, dragging the start of debate on the bill late into the night.

Motions against Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi and Defence Agency Director General Shigeru Ishiba were both defeated by the ruling coalition by margins of more than 30 votes in the 247-seat chamber, parliamentary officials said.

A third censure motion against Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda was pending as of 10:40 pm (1340 GMT), parliamentary officials said.

Japan's parliament is obliged to debate the censure motions in specially convened plenary sessions before getting on with any other business.

The opposition also planned to present a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to the powerful lower house, but the timing had yet to be decided, according to an official of the largest opposition group, the Democratic Party.

The Iraq bill, already approved by the powerful lower house on July 4, would provide legal basis for the first dispatch of Japanese troops since World War II to a country where there is ongoing fighting.

The opposition, including the left-wing Social Democrats and the Communists, insists that the troop dispatch would violate Japan's anti-war constitution, put Japanese at risk and involve the country in the aftermath of an unjustifiable war.

The motions have delayed the start of debate of the bill scheduled for Thursday afternoon by the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, whose approval is a prerequisite for voting by an upper house plenary session, a ruling Liberal Democratic Party official said.

Enactment of the bill into law was planned for Friday, but there was speculation it could be held up until the weekend, according to Jiji Press.

The motion against the foreign minister accused her of "repeating ambiguous, bureaucratic testimony in parliament and abdicating her responsibility to explain" why Japan needed to send troops to Iraq.

It also argued the minister was "irresponsible" as she blindly followed information from the United States and Britain about suspected weapons of mass destruction in Iraq although none have yet been found.

Under the terms of the bill, Japanese troops will limit their activities to "non-combat areas." Opposition groups have argued there are no such non-combat zones in Iraq amid ongoing guerrilla attacks on US forces.

In a parliamentary debate on Wednesday, Koizumi claimed there were non-combat zones but admitted he could not name them.

The bill paves the way for a reconnaissance mission expected to be dispatched by August, followed by a 1,000-strong contingent in October.

The Japanese forces' mission would be to help resettle refugees, rebuild facilities and provide fresh water and supplies.

They are banned under the proposed legislation from providing weapons and ammunition for combat, but a government official said transporting such equipment from one place to another would be a different matter.

WAR.WIRE