By SHINO MATSUYAMA/ Staff Writer
October 20, 2023 at 14:11 JST
A Japan Air Self-Defense Force transport aircraft leaves Komaki Base in Aichi Prefecture for Djibouti on Oct. 14. (Tadashi Mizowaki)
The Japanese government has flown 83 citizens, mainly Japanese and South Koreans, from Israel to escape the escalating military conflict between Hamas and the Israeli military.
The evacuation was carried out on the Air Self-Defense Force’s KC-767 air refueling and transport aircraft, which departed Tel Aviv on the night of Oct. 19 and arrived in Jordan.
The passengers included 60 Japanese citizens and four foreign family members, along with 18 South Korean citizens and one foreign family member.
The aircraft is expected to arrive at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on the morning of Oct. 21.
Fifty-one Japanese citizens and their family members were evacuated from Israel on a South Korean military aircraft on Oct. 14.
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and her South Korean counterpart, Park Jin, talked over the phone on Oct. 15 to confirm their cooperation in the evacuation of their citizens.
Upon a request from Kamikawa, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara ordered the SDF on Oct. 18 to carry out the evacuation operation in accordance with Article 84-4 of the Self-Defense Forces Law.
The Japanese government also reached out to citizens of other countries and regions, including the United States and Taiwan, but only South Korean citizens expressed interest in being evacuated, Japanese officials said.
According to the Foreign Ministry, about 900 Japanese citizens were in Israel as of Oct. 18.
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