Photo/Illutration A C-2 transport plane departs from the Air Self-Defense Force's Iruma Air Base in Saitama Prefecture on Aug. 23. (Takayuki Kakuno)

The terrorist bombing on Aug. 26 near Kabul international airport has ramped up the danger of evacuating Japanese nationals in Afghanistan and raised the possibility that the Self-Defense Forces will suspend its airlift plans without rescuing a single individual.

Government officials were planning to hold a National Security Council meeting on Aug. 27 to discuss future measures, including the possibility of having the SDF leave Afghanistan.

During a news conference on Aug. 27, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said SDF planes would continue to standby to evacuate Japanese nationals and local Afghan staff. He added, however, that, “The circumstances are highly uncertain and the situation is one that calls for caution.”

But a Japanese government source, commenting on the bombings, gave a more dire assessment on Aug. 26.

“It is the worst-case scenario and we have to think about withdrawing” the SDF members, the source said.

Kato said that no information had been obtained of any injuries to Japanese nationals still in Afghanistan, SDF members dispatched there or among local Afghan staff of the Japanese Embassy.

He stressed that the U.S. military continues to manage the situation at the Kabul international airport and that the legal conditions for the dispatch of SDF planes remain in place. The fourth paragraph of the SDF Law’s Article 84 states airlifts can be conducted only when safe flights have been ensured.

High-ranking officials of the Foreign and Defense ministries met on the morning of Aug. 27 to discuss the situation in the wake of the terrorist attack. While agreement was reached that the evacuation plan would continue, time is quickly running out for the SDF members.

At a news conference the same day, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said, “We feel that today is the last day we can continue with the activity.”

SDF planes flew into Kabul airport on Aug. 25 and 26 from neighboring Pakistan, but the people who were considered subjects for evacuation did not make it to the airport, in part, because armed Taliban members have set up checkpoints around it.

The government had always considered the presence of the U.S. military there as the major condition for having the SDF conduct the evacuation, and U.S. officials have set the end of August as the deadline for removing the U.S. military.

Three SDF aircraft have flown to neighboring Pakistan to prepare to transport several hundreds of people, including Japanese working for international organizations, local staff of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as well as their family members, out of Afghanistan.

Related News