A C-130 transport plane dispatched by the Air Self-Defense Force carrying drinking water arrived in Tonga on Saturday after an undersea volcanic eruption and a tsunami hit the Pacific islands nation last weekend.
The plane left the Komaki Air Base in central Japan on Thursday with potable water prepared by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, a government-linked aid agency. It landed at an Australian air base on Friday before taking off for Tonga on Saturday morning.
The ASDF is dispatching another C-130 loaded with drinking water and two C-2 transport aircraft to the tsunami-stricken country as part of relief efforts.