Kyodo News About 110 sailors aboard the Maritime Self-Defense Force minesweeper Uraga reached Yokosuka port in Kanagawa Prefecture on New Year's Eve and were received with welcoming cheers by their families and fellow MSDF ranks.
The vessel returned from a mission to deliver relief supplies for Afghan refugees in Pakistan under a special antiterrorism law enacted Oct. 29. The 5,650-ton Uraga was one of six MSDF ships sent to the Indian Ocean to give logistic assistance to U.S.-led forces attacking terrorist targets in Afghanistan and to support Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
"I'm proud of our mission," said a 27-year-old sailor who was returning home after a journey that began Nov. 25.