Japan Extends Anti-Piracy Mission off Somalia For Another Year

Two Japanese destroyers and two maritime patrol aircraft will continue their anti-piracy mission into 2017.

Last week, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced that the Japanese government has extended Japan’s participation in a multinational counter-piracy mission in the Gulf of Yemen and off the coast of Somalia by another year.

“This morning, a meeting of the National Security Council and a cabinet meeting were held, and it was decided that the counter-piracy operations in the seas off Somalia in the Gulf of Aden will be extended for one year,” Nakatani said during a press conference at the defense ministry on June 17.

Given Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “Proactive Commitment to Peace” diplomacy, the approval for an extension of Japan’s military presence in Africa was never truly in doubt. Japan has been repeatedly criticized

that its “proactive commitment’” to peace often merely means official development assistance.

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Image: Japan Ministry of Defense

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