Self-Defense Forces aircraft will be used to airlift relief supplies to Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda announced Friday.

Four or five C-130 cargo planes belonging to the Air Self-Defense Force will be dispatched "as soon as possible," carrying tents, blankets and other relief items, Fukuda said.

The supplies will be distributed among refugees via the local office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, he said.

The move follows a request by the UNHCR, with the mission forming part of the nation's peacekeeping efforts allowed within the framework of existing legislation, the chief government spokesman said.

"In light of the urgent nature of the matter, we hope to hold coordination talks with the ruling parties and proceed with other necessary steps so that approval can be obtained at a Cabinet meeting as soon as possible," Fukuda said.

The dispatch will take place as early as next week, government sources said.

Defense Agency officials said Friday afternoon that thegovernment will today send a research team comprising government and ASDF officials to Pakistan prior to the airlift mission.

ASDF Chief of Staff Ikuo Tootake said the team would probably study local airport conditions as well as security situation, adding that such a field research may take a week or more.

A huge increase in the flow of Afghan refugees is expected in the face of an anticipated U.S. military response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Apart from providing humanitarian support, the government also plans to allow SDF troops to protect and offer humanitarian aid to the refugees even if Pakistan becomes involved in U.S.-led attacks. The SDF would not be allowed to participate in the latter under existing legislation.

The government hopes to enact legislation next month enabling the SDF to play an expanded role in the affair, including providing logistic and other noncombatant support to the U.S.-led forces.

In a related development, Defense Agency chief Gen Nakatani said Friday that a decision on whether to dispatch an Aegis-equipped vessel of the Maritime Self-Defense Force on an intelligence-gathering mission to the Middle East will be made after the matter is discussed with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

Koizumi will meanwhile send former Foreign Minister Masahiro Komura to Saudi Arabia and Iran as the prime minister's special envoy from Sunday to Oct. 5, Fukuda said.

Komura is expected to deliver letters penned by Koizumi to the leaders of both countries and ask for their cooperation with the U.S. in its campaign against terrorism.

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka told a separate news conference that former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto will travel to Egypt, also to help with antiterrorism efforts.

She did not say when Hashimoto will make his visit, but government officials have suggested it will probably take place in early October.