The Ministry of Defense has decided to transport even foreigners alone, based on the lessons learned from the fact that many foreign staff at the Japanese embassy in Afghanistan could not use SDF aircraft over the evacuation of SDF aircraft in the event of an emergency in a foreign country. We are considering including the revision of the Self-Defense Forces Law so that we can do it.
In August, the government dispatched a Self-Defense Forces aircraft to the site in response to the deterioration of the situation in Afghanistan, and evacuated one Japanese and 14 Afghanistans.
However, some of the approximately 500 people, including the Japanese embassy and JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) Afghan staff, could not reach the airport due to the impact of the bomb terrorism that occurred immediately before, and then by land. Some people left Japan and then entered Japan on a civilian aircraft.
Based on these lessons, Prime Minister Kishida has announced that he has instructed the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives to consider improvement measures.
The Ministry of Defense has also revised the Self-Defense Forces Law, which stipulates the transportation of Japanese nationals by SDF aircraft, such as clearly stating that foreigners alone can be transported, keeping in mind foreigners and their families who work for Japanese embassies and government-affiliated international organizations. We are considering including.
In addition, we plan to consider operational improvements such as strengthening information sharing with the US military by confirming the local security situation and speeding up dispatch procedures.