Japan Self - Defense Forces Allowed To Carry Out Foreigners - Only Evacuations
Japan has enacted a law to allow its Self-Defense Forces to rescue only non-Japanese in an emergency abroad.
In August, when Afghanistan was in turmoil as US troops were pulling out, the Japanese government sent a Self-Defense Force aircraft and evacuated one Japanese national and 14 Afghans.
At the time, the law governing the Self-Defense Forces did not spell out that SDF aircraft can transport foreign nationals unaccompanied by a Japanese citizen.
The government submitted a bill to revise the legislation following criticism from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and others that the decision to send the aircraft was too slow. The bill passed the Diet on Wednesday.
The revised law makes clear that a group of only non-Japanese, for example, staff at a Japanese embassy overseas, can be rescued by SDF aircraft in case of a terrorist attack, conflict or other crisis.
In addition, the description of the timing for sending SDF aircraft was changed. Aircraft could previously only be sent "when the operation could be conducted safely," but they can now be dispatched "when steps can be taken to avoid possible danger."
The stipulation to use a government plane in principle was abolished to speed up the dispatch of SDF aircraft.