Japan will send a Self-Defense Forces aircraft to its operating base in Djibouti as part of efforts to evacuate its nationals in Israel, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday, amid the fierce conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Kishida told reporters that the SDF aircraft will leave "swiftly once it is ready" for Djibouti, an eastern African nation around 2,000 kilometers south of Israel, and will be on standby there to transport Japanese citizens staying or living in Israel if such a need arises.
"We will take all possible measures to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals, including closely collaborating with relevant countries," Kishida added.
As Japan plans to evacuate its citizens on a civilian charter flight Saturday from Tel Aviv to Dubai, evacuating them using the SDF plane will be a backup measure in case the crisis further intensifies and the contracted plane becomes unavailable, according to a government source.
Earlier on Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno announced the evacuation using a charter flight at a press conference, saying that many commercial flights to Israel have been suspended since Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel last Saturday.
The assault by Hamas has triggered global concern about the growing humanitarian crisis. In Japan, it has also sparked concern about oil supplies from the Middle East, given the country is highly dependent on crude oil imports from the region.
Over 2,800 people have been reportedly killed in Hamas attacks and retaliation by Israel, which is said to be preparing for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip controlled by the militant group.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told a separate news conference that a C-2 transport aircraft will be on standby in Djibouti, but fell short of saying how many planes will be dispatched in total.
Kihara also said his ministry is set to send 22 liaison officers to the Middle East on Saturday, and suggested that evacuating Japanese citizens in Israel by land may be an option depending on the situation.
The SDF has am operating base in Djibouti for an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.
On Thursday, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa condemned the weekend "terror attack" in Israel by Hamas during a telephone call with her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen, her ministry said.
In their 15-minute call, the first since Hamas struck Israel, Kamikawa told Cohen that the "brutal, indiscriminate attack" and abductions of civilians by the militant group "cannot be justified on any grounds," the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
"It is obvious that Israel has a right to defend itself and its people in accordance with international law," said Kamikawa, who was on a six-day tour of four Southeast Asian nations from Sunday and spoke to Cohen from Bangkok.
After returning to Tokyo on Friday, she talked with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki by phone. The two agreed on the necessity of improving humanitarian access, according to the ministry.
Kamikawa asked Cohen and Malki, respectively, to ensure the safety of Japanese nationals in Israel and Palestine, and expressed Japan's hope that calm will be restored as soon as possible, the ministry said.
Kamikawa has also held telephone calls with the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates during her overseas trip.
In Tel Aviv on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington will fully support Israel. They also discussed the possibility of establishing a safe corridor for Palestinians fleeing Israeli strikes.
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