Al-Saadiya is close to Khanaqin, a predominantly Kurdish area of the province in dispute between the central government and the autonomous Kurdish regionalgovernment in northern Iraq.
Hashimoto has also found with Noda important areas of agreement, particularly reforming the system of regional administration to create larger, more autonomousregional units that would take over authority from the central government.
His visit comes at a time of growing tensions between the central government of Nuri al-Maliki and the Kurdistan RegionalGovernment in the country's autonomous northern region.