For the first time since the deadly earthquake and tsunami hit northeast Japan, the government on Sunday permitted a foreign medical team to enter the country to treat victims.
Although it is technically illegal for holders of foreign medical licenses to treat patients in Japan, the health ministry issued a notice lifting that restriction, limited to the disaster areas, three days after the quake.
A team of 53 medical aid workers from Israel, including 14 doctors, seven nurses and the interpreters, arrived at Narita airport Sunday evening to go to Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture, where they plan to set up a field clinic and assist local doctors in the initial examination of disaster victims.