A Maritime Self-Defense Force ship arrived Wednesday morning in the Pakistani port of Karachi on a mission to deliver relief supplies for Afghan refugees.
The 5,650-ton minesweeper tender Uraga, with a crew of about 110, entered the port shortly after 8 a.m.
The Uraga set sail from Japan on Nov. 25 with two other ships, marking the first time for a Japanese military contingent to provide assistance to combat forces since the end of World War II.
It is carrying about 200 tons of relief goods, including some 1,000 tents, 20,000 blankets and 20,000 water containers, which will take two or three days to unload. The minesweeper tender, from the Yokosuka base in Kanagawa Prefecture, is scheduled to return to Japan on Dec. 31.