A team of about 30 Defense Ministry officials left Japan on Saturday to conduct fact-finding investigations in quake-hit areas of Indonesia.
The relief team left Narita airport on an order issued early Saturday by Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa, who is responding to a request for help from the Indonesian government.
The request for Self-Defense Force assistance, including medical support and airlifting of relief goods, comes in the aftermath of a magnitude-7.6 earthquake that rocked Padang and other areas in West Sumatra Province on Wednesday, killing more than 1,000 people and trapping thousands more.