A destroyer of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force has left for the Middle East to take on an intelligence-gathering mission to ensure the safe navigation of Japan-related vessels in the region's waters.
The Kirisame left Sasebo Base in Nagasaki Prefecture on Sunday after a ceremony that was scaled back due to the coronavirus. The ship has a crew of around 200.
A member of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in the Middle East has tested positive for the new coronavirus.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force has a destroyer and a patrol aircraft unit conducting anti-piracy operations off Somalia. In addition, it has about a dozen contact personnel working at a command center of a US-led international coalition in Bahrain.
A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer has left for the Middle East to conduct survey and research activities. It is the first time an MSDF ship has gone on an international mission that will last longer than a year.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saw off the destroyer Takanami at Yokosuka Naval Base south of Tokyo in a ceremony on Sunday morning.
Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono has downplayed the danger to the Self-Defense Forces' intelligence-gathering mission in the Middle East. The government hopes the information will help safeguard commercial ships at a time of regional tension.
Kono discussed the mission in an exclusive interview with NHK World on Thursday.
A former senior official of the Air Self-Defense Force has been arrested for allegedly leaking confidential data on US early warning aircraft to a Japanese trading house.
58-year-old Sou Kanno is a former colonel and section chief at the ASDF's Air Development and Test Command.
Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono has said a liaison officer has started working at a US command center for a Self-Defense Force intelligence-gathering mission in the Middle East.
Kono attended an Upper House committee session on Friday about the mission aimed at ensuring the safety of Japan-related shipping operating in the region.
Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono has issued an order to send an intelligence-gathering mission to the Middle East to help ensure the safe navigation of commercial vessels.
Kono ordered the dispatch of two patrol planes and one destroyer at a meeting with senior ministry and Self-Defense Forces officials on Friday.
Japan's Defense Minister Taro Kono will order the dispatch of a Self-Defense Force mission to the Middle East on Friday amid heightened tensions in the region.
The move is aimed at increasing intelligence-gathering capability to ensure that commercial ships with links to Japan can safely navigate waters in the Middle East.