Japan’s defense minister Yasukazu Hamada has announced that its Maritime Self Defense Force will join other nations in the fight against piracy off of Somalia. The decision was made after months of debate that it does not go against Japan’s strict post-WWII constitution, limiting Japan’s military to only defensive operations.
While it is not yet known how many ships or when they will begin operations, some reports are saying that it could be in a months time. A Japanese ship has not fallen victim to a hijacking since October of 2007, but there have been attempts made.
Links
BBC: Japan To Deploy Ships Off Somalia
Daily Nation: Japan to fight Somalia pirates