Japan will build its own base in Djibouti to house Self-Defense Forces personnel and patrol planes involved in antipiracy operations off Somalia, government sources said Thursday.
Tokyo plans to complete a tarmac for Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C surveillance planes and housing facilities in the strife-torn country next year, the sources said. Japan currently rents facilities owned by the private sector and the U.S. military.
The plan signals Japan's deepened commitment to the antipiracy mission, which came under a new law on July 24 that expands the types of commercial ships to be escorted by the SDF.