Japan's efforts to fly home expatriates from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the new coronavirus outbreak, is unlikely to involve government planes despite their use having initially been considered.

The Japanese government has relied solely on charter flights operated by commercial airlines instead due to their superior transport capacity and Chinese authorities' perceived reluctance to accept the landing of the government planes, operated by the Self-Defense Forces.

Japan currently owns two planes, used by the Prime Minister and other dignitaries for flights abroad. The planes are also deployed in emergencies, such as for transporting Japanese nationals and taking part in international aid efforts.

The use of such planes were originally considered to take part in the evacuation of Japanese expatriates in Wuhan alongside chartered commercial planes.

"It's a chance to show our cooperation," a senior Defense Ministry official said.

However, the use of government planes was met with several issues. For example, government planes can only carry some 100 people at a time, while commercial planes can carry upward of 200 people per trip.

Additionally, sources say the use of SDF-operated government planes would have met resistance from the Chinese side.

"The Chinese government considers government planes to be 'military aircraft,' and is thought to be unwilling to let them land," a government source said.

The government has instead relied exclusively on commercial planes to bring home a total of 763 Japanese nationals over four trips. With only a few nationals left in Hubei Province, home to Wuhan, the Japanese government is considering negotiating with the Chinese side to allow such expatriates to move to other regions that still have regular flights to Japan.

"At this rate, (the government planes) are unlikely to see action," a Defense Ministry source said.

JIJI Press