Japan's new Defense Ministry aims to bolster Japan's contribution to peace and is not aimed at military expansion, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday.

The change in the Defense Agency's status reflects "our faith in pacifist policy and civilian control (of the military) and is not aimed at military expansion or regional threat," Abe said.

The upgrade earlier this month created the country's first Defense Ministry since World War II.

The new ministry aims "to strengthen Japan's contribution to world peace and security," Abe said in a speech at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo.

Abe also said that Japan supported Washington's new policy in Iraq, saying he expected it to contribute to recovering security and furthering reforms in the troubled country.

U.S. President George W. Bush unveiled a new strategy earlier this month that would send more than 21,000 additional troops to Iraq. But the plan has met with strong skepticism not only in Washington but also in the Mideast, where many predicted that more soldiers would not help America quell the sectarian violence that plagues much of the country.

Japan, Washington's top ally, backed the U.S. invasion of Iraq and provided ground troops for a non-combat, humanitarian mission in the southern Iraqi city of Samawah since early 2004. Tokyo withdrew the ground troops in July, and has since expanded its Kuwait-based airlifting operations.

Abe also urged the international community to pressure North Korea over its nuclear ambitions and past abductions of Japanese nationals, and praised host Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for including the abduction issue as part of the final statement issued at the end of the East Asian summit Monday.