3 Japanese aircraft to lift nationals, local staff from Afghanistan

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Japan was rushing at least three planes to the Afghan capital Kabul after coming under fire by its own ruling party ranks for evacuating several Japanese nationals and local staff who worked for its embassy on board a British plane last week.

"Securing the safety of Japanese people (in Afghanistan) is our top priority, and we also deem it important to secure the safety of local staff of the embassy and JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency),” Japanese government spokesman Katsunobu Kato said Monday.

The decision comes after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party criticized the decision by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government to airlift Japanese embassy staff on a British military plane.

Japan shut its embassy in Kabul on Aug. 15 and flew its staff to Dubai while a Japanese Defense Ministry team has left for Kabul to prepare for the evacuation of those who worked with the Japanese Embassy and Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Japan will fly one C-2 transport aircraft today and two C-130s on Tuesday, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

Some Japanese nationals working for international organizations are still in the war-torn country which saw a US-led invasion coming to end as foreign troops rush to completely withdraw from the country by the end of this month after the US signed a deal with the Taliban last year in February.

Suga will join a G7 online summit on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.