Japanese nationals flee Iran and Israel amid conflict
Government-chartered buses have evacuated 87 Japanese nationals and their family members from Israel and Iran amid the intensifying conflict between the two Middle Eastern countries, Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Friday.
By Friday, 21 people from Israel arrived in the Jordanian capital of Amman, 66 people feeling Iran arrived in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, Iwaya said, adding that they are all healthy.
According to the Foreign Ministry, some 1,000 Japanese citizens are still in Israel and about 220 are in Iran.
The second round of evacuations from Iran by bus will be conducted as early as Saturday, Iwaya said.
"We are determined to do everything to protect Japanese nationals while closely monitoring local conditions," he said.
The Japanese government has already ordered the Air Self-Defense Force to dispatch transport aircraft to Djibouti in East Africa in order to make preparations for a possible airlift mission amid the Iran-Israel clash.
Two C-2 transport planes and around 120 ASDF members are expected to depart from the Miho base in Tottori Prefecture on Saturday at the earliest, people familiar with the matter said.
Airports are closed in Iran and Israel amid the most intense fighting in history between the two enemy nations.
The government is preparing for evacuations by air in the event that airspace is reopened in Iran and Israel, Iwaya noted.
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