Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Wednesday ordered the Maritime Self-Defense Force to prepare to deploy a task force off Somalia to patrol for pirates.

But it remains unresolved under what conditions the MSDF would be allowed to use force against the pirates, who routinely hijack ships near Somalia's shores and hold them and their crews for ransom.

Prime Minister Taro Aso is expected to give the final go-ahead to the MSDF deployment in a month, after which warships will begin protecting Japanese and Japan-linked commercial vessels off Somalia in late March or later.