Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japan on Friday said it was revising the implementation plan for Japan’s international peace cooperation assignments in South Sudan to extend the period of deployment, the Foreign Ministry reported.

The Foreign Ministry said it made the decision “taking into account the significance of continuing Japan’s involvement in international peace and security.”

Japan has been dispatching Self-Defense Forces personnel to the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) as headquarters personnel since November 2011.

Four headquarters personnel are currently planning and coordinating logistics, intelligence, facilities, and air operations at UNMISS headquarters in the capital, Juba. The intelligence staff’s duties have been expanded to include information analysis in addition to the existing database maintenance and management duties.

The Deputy Chief of Staff (Personnel, Training, and Evaluation) and his Assistant Chief of Staff, who were additionally dispatched in May last year, have returned to Japan after completing their one-year mission.

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on April 30 to extend the period of operation until May 9, while a further resolution was made to extend the period of operation until April 30 next year.

UNMISS is currently the only UN Peacekeeping Operation to which Japan has deployed personnel. Japan says its continued deployment of personnel is “important from the perspective of continuing close involvement with the UN, cooperation with neighboring African countries, and securing opportunities for human resource development.”