Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto decided July 16 to recall three Air Self-Defense Force transport planes dispatched to Thailand to help in the possible evacuation of Japanese nationals from Cambodia. Acting on Hashimoto's instructions, Post and Telecommunications Minister Hisao Horinouchi, who is serving as acting chief of the Defense Agency, issued an order for the three C-130 Hercules planes to leave Thailand late July 16.

The decision was made after Hashimoto discussed the matter with Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama, Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda and Horinouchi at the Prime Minister's Official Residence on late July 16. Horinouchi attended the meeting on behalf of Fumio Kyuma, director general of the Defense Agency, who is currently overseas.

The ministers agreed to withdraw the aircraft following two rounds of talks earlier in the day. One meeting was between former Ambassador to Cambodia Yukio Imagawa and King Norodom Sihanouk in Beijing, the other was between current Ambassador to Cambodia Shohei Naito and Second Prime Minister Hun Sen in Phnom Penh, Kajiyama told reporters. The ministers concerned met earlier July 16 to consider the issue and agreed that a decision on whether to recall the planes would be made after more relevant information was available and the situation in Cambodia was determined through the meetings in Beijing and Phnom Penh.

The government dispatched the transport planes to the Thai naval base at U-Taphao on July 12 to prepare for a possible evacuation mission. But the dispatch came after the situation in Cambodia had calmed down and commercial planes had resumed services. The action invited criticism from within the ruling alliance.

Takako Doi, head of the Social Democratic Party, one of the allies of Hashimoto's Liberal Democratic Party, said the decision to dispatch the planes went beyond the current legal framework. She also complained that the dispatch was made without any consultation with the SDP. The Cambodian government said it would not allow the ASDF planes to enter its airspace.