Aid mission a test of integrated command

Aid mission a test of integrated command

The government has sent about 1,000 Self-Defense Forces troops on
a mission to aid victims of the powerful earthquake that occurred
in waters off Sumatra, Indonesia, and the enormous ensuing
tsunami. Japan has never sent so many SDF members overseas
before. The recent dispatch shows that we have expanded the scope
of the SDF's role in the international community.

The latest SDF mission was the fifth of its kind to be carried
out under the Japan Disaster Relief Team Law. The mission should
be regarded as epochal in many respects.

First, the scale of dispatch has never been greater. Second,
the mission was part of an international cooperative effort made
by many countries. Third, the Ground, Maritime and Air Self-
Defense forces joined to form two groups that were sent on the
mission.

The government intends to revise the Self-Defense Forces Law
with the aim of expanding the list of SDF missions to include
international peacekeeping activities. If the SDF can
successfully carry out their mission in the stricken areas, the
public will be more apt to recognize the necessity of revising
the law, which could expedite achieving that goal. -- The Yomiuri Shimbun, Tokyo