People climb a wall in an attempt to enter the international airport in Kabul on Aug. 24, 2021 in this photo taken by a Mainichi Shimbun assistant.

       The approaching deadline for U.S. troops to withdraw from Afghanistan is the end of August, leaving no time to spare for Japan's Self-Defense Forces' (SDF) support activities evacuating Japanese nationals and foreign staff at the Japanese Embassy.

       According to a Japanese government source, Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) transport planes had entered the international airport in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul twice by the afternoon of Aug. 26 Japanese time, but evacuations couldn't happen because those wishing to leave the country had not arrived. The deteriorating public safety in Afghanistan, where the Islamist Taliban organization has seized power, leaves the outlook murky.

       One man who tried in vain to enter the airport on Aug. 22 spoke to the Mainichi Shimbun. "There were too many people and it was impossible to get into the airport," he said. "I waited around four hours in temperatures of nearly 35 degrees (Celsius), but I started to feel sick and had to leave." He said the U.S. military and the Taliban had repeatedly fired warning shots to disperse crowds.

       Turmoil has continued around the airport since the Taliban took the capital. Thousands of people seeking evacuation have crowded into areas nearby and are sleeping there. It is not easy for more people to approach the airport's entrance. According to The Associated Press, seven died in a panicked stampede on Aug. 21. Two days later, shooting broke out between an unidentified armed group and the U.S. military and other parties. The U.S. Embassy to Afghanistan warned threats around the airport were increasing, and advised Americans remaining in Afghanistan not to go there. Later, on Aug. 26, an attack on the airport including suicide bombings killed more than 80 people.

       The support Japan provides is based on Section 4 of Article 84 of the Self-Defense Forces Act, which covers transportation of Japanese nationals and others in emergencies. This is the first evacuation to include non-Japanese people.

       The SDF's three transport planes carrying about 260 Air and Ground Self-Defense Forces personnel arrived in Islamabad, capital of neighboring Pakistan, on the evening of Aug. 25 Japanese time. They are set to travel between Kabul and Islamabad, evacuating those wishing to leave Afghanistan.

       People wait to board a plane at Kabul's international airport on Aug. 24, 2021 in this photo taken by a Mainichi Shimbun assistant.

       According to a government source, a maximum of about 500 people are due to be eligible for evacuation on the Japanese aircraft. Most are workers at the Japanese Embassy and local staff from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and their families.

       Those wishing to be evacuated have to reach the airport by themselves. After passing through a U.S. military security gate at the facility, Japanese Foreign Ministry officials initiate departure procedures for them, such as verifying their identities. However, there has been a stream of cases at Taliban-established checkpoints close to the airport where people have been turned away even after presenting documents showing they are eligible for evacuation.

       From the perspective of avoiding Taliban attacks on the Japanese transport aircraft, one Self-Defense Force official said, "The question of whether we can leave the scene quickly and safely is important." The idea is to complete aircraft maintenance, inspection and refueling in Islamabad, keep the planes' engines running upon arrival in Kabul, have those who want to be evacuated board, and then quickly take off.

       This is the first time Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) members have been dispatched for evacuation support under Article 84, Section 4 of the Self-Defense Forces Act, and it's for unforeseen circumstances. The GSDF has trained in Japan and overseas to rescue Japanese nationals. They are armed, but it is believed their weapons have been kept to a minimum.

       In implementing evacuation support measures, it is important to ascertain the security situation. Ten members of the Japanese Defense Ministry's information gathering unit were dispatched to Afghanistan on Aug. 22 and 23 ahead of the transportation aircraft, and a ministry official said, "We finally started receiving tangible local information." However, some SDF members are reportedly saying that they don't believe the area is safe and the "safety" that the Japanese government emphasizes is just a public stance to enable it to go ahead with the support measures.

       (Japanese original by Yoshitake Matsuura, Tokyo City News Department, So Matsui, New Delhi Bureau, and Toshiya Nakamura, Foreign News Department)

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