Prime Minister Taro Aso is considering sending the Maritime Self-Defense Force to deal with the growing number of piracy attacks off Somalia, but lawmakers and the public appear cool to the idea.
Aso is willing to draft a bill to authorize a possible antipiracy mission by the MSDF in line with similar moves by NATO and the European Union to send warships to crack down on pirates.
NATO said it already dispatched seven warships off Somalia to protect ships of the World Food Program from pirate attacks. Russia and India have also separately deployed warships, and the EU plans to send seven ships for the mission in December.