ID :
167684
Sat, 03/12/2011 - 18:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/167684
The shortlink copeid
SDF swings into top gear in relief efforts to rescue survivors
TOKYO (Kyodo) - The Self-Defense Forces went into full relief mode on Saturday as Prime Minister Naoto Kan called for more SDF troops to help areas hit by a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 8.8 that struck northeastern Japan and caused massive tsunami affecting the region's Pacific coast.
Kan told a news conference that he asked Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa to further boost the number of SDF personnel dispatched to areas hit by the quake and tsunami from the current 50,000. The SDFs have helped about 790 survivors so far.
Kan revealed during a meeting earlier in the day at the government's antidisaster countermeasure headquarters that the SDF dispatch will increase from 20,000 to 50,000.
''First and foremost, we need to make full efforts in saving lives and rescuing people,'' he said hours after authorities confirmed an explosion at the Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima following the disastrous earthquake.
For rescue and other operations to relieve the suffering of quake-hit areas, all available SDF resources, including personnel, vehicles, aircraft and vessels, have been mobilized.
Some 190 aircraft and about 45 vessels have so far been dispatched or are preparing for deployment to quake- and tsunami-stricken areas mostly in the country's northeastern region, according to the Defense Ministry.
Kitazawa said at a meeting at the ministry involving both senior ministry officials and SDF officers, ''I want you to continue doing everything in your power'' to deal with the relief efforts.
He said other Cabinet ministers have praised the SDF response, noting that efforts to rescue people stranded at various locations were being executed ''efficiently.''
Most of the SDF personnel so far deployed to the disaster-hit areas, such as Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, are from the northeastern region, but the rest come from different parts of the country, such as Hokkaido and Fukuoka, the ministry said.
Ground Self-Defense Force, Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Air Self-Defense Force helicopters continued airlifting people stranded in buildings or vessels at sea, including about 200 residents stranded within a 10-kilometer radius from the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
ASDF C-130 transport planes carried more than 100 antidisaster medical personnel to areas where the disaster struck, according to the ministry.
GSDF personnel trained to deal with nuclear, chemical and biological terrorism and their vehicles arrived at a location near the Fukushima No. 1 power plant and are monitoring radioactive substances around the plant.
The SDF is making arrangements with the U.S. military to transport Ground Self-Defense Force troops and vehicles by U.S. vessels in what would be the largest-ever domestic antidisaster operation involving U.S. forces, the ministry said, adding that it could occur on Monday or later.
The SDF is also making arrangements for the MSDF and the U.S. 7th Fleet to conduct joint search and rescue operations off the Pacific coast in northeastern Japan.
SDF liaison officers have been sent to the offices of Hokkaido, Miyagi, Iwate, Akita, Aomori, Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures to coordinate with local officials in providing relief efforts.
Kan told a news conference that he asked Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa to further boost the number of SDF personnel dispatched to areas hit by the quake and tsunami from the current 50,000. The SDFs have helped about 790 survivors so far.
Kan revealed during a meeting earlier in the day at the government's antidisaster countermeasure headquarters that the SDF dispatch will increase from 20,000 to 50,000.
''First and foremost, we need to make full efforts in saving lives and rescuing people,'' he said hours after authorities confirmed an explosion at the Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima following the disastrous earthquake.
For rescue and other operations to relieve the suffering of quake-hit areas, all available SDF resources, including personnel, vehicles, aircraft and vessels, have been mobilized.
Some 190 aircraft and about 45 vessels have so far been dispatched or are preparing for deployment to quake- and tsunami-stricken areas mostly in the country's northeastern region, according to the Defense Ministry.
Kitazawa said at a meeting at the ministry involving both senior ministry officials and SDF officers, ''I want you to continue doing everything in your power'' to deal with the relief efforts.
He said other Cabinet ministers have praised the SDF response, noting that efforts to rescue people stranded at various locations were being executed ''efficiently.''
Most of the SDF personnel so far deployed to the disaster-hit areas, such as Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, are from the northeastern region, but the rest come from different parts of the country, such as Hokkaido and Fukuoka, the ministry said.
Ground Self-Defense Force, Maritime Self-Defense Force, and Air Self-Defense Force helicopters continued airlifting people stranded in buildings or vessels at sea, including about 200 residents stranded within a 10-kilometer radius from the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
ASDF C-130 transport planes carried more than 100 antidisaster medical personnel to areas where the disaster struck, according to the ministry.
GSDF personnel trained to deal with nuclear, chemical and biological terrorism and their vehicles arrived at a location near the Fukushima No. 1 power plant and are monitoring radioactive substances around the plant.
The SDF is making arrangements with the U.S. military to transport Ground Self-Defense Force troops and vehicles by U.S. vessels in what would be the largest-ever domestic antidisaster operation involving U.S. forces, the ministry said, adding that it could occur on Monday or later.
The SDF is also making arrangements for the MSDF and the U.S. 7th Fleet to conduct joint search and rescue operations off the Pacific coast in northeastern Japan.
SDF liaison officers have been sent to the offices of Hokkaido, Miyagi, Iwate, Akita, Aomori, Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures to coordinate with local officials in providing relief efforts.
