Japan to send Self-Defense Forces planes to Afghanistan

Tokyo, Aug 23 (IANS) Japan will send three Self-Defense Forces (SDF) planes to Afghanistan to evacuate Japanese nationals and local staff who worked for the country's embassy and other organisations, the top government spokesperson said on Monday.Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said the government will first send one C-2 transport aircraft on Monday and two C-130s on Tuesday to Afghanistan for the evacuation mission, reports Xinhua news agency.Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party had criticised the decision to evacuate Japanese embassy staff via a British military airplane last week.After the closure of the Japanese embassy in Afghanistan on August 15, the country's diplomats were evacuated to Dubai on August 16.However, some Japanese nationals working for international organisations were still in the war-torn country.
--IANS ksk/