TOKYO, Feb. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- A Japanese foreign ministry spokesman denied on Wednesday an earlier media report that its Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) would pull out of Iraq by the end of May.

    "Nothing has been decided at the current moment," Yoshinori Katori, the ministry's press secretary, told a news conference, denying a Kyodo News report.

    The Japanese government is "not thinking of deciding on the period for ending the Self-Defense Forces' activities at a time Iraq is in an extremely important political moment," said the spokesman.

    Quoting government sources, Kyodo reported early Tuesday that GSDF troops will withdraw from southern Iraq by the end of May.

    Japan has stationed some 600 ground troops in Samawah, southern Iraq, for a non-combat reconstruction mission since early 2004. Enditem