A large portion of the U.S. military forces stationed in Japan has been dispatched as part of the U.S.-led military strikes Monday against terrorist targets in Afghanistan.

Although some of the troops are expected to take an active role in the operations, the dispatch did not fall into a category requiring prior consultation with Japan, the Foreign Ministry said.

The Japan-U.S. Security Treaty stipulates consultations should occur when U.S. military facilities are used as bases for combat operations that are unrelated to an armed attack against Japan or U.S. bases in Japan.