The government on Monday gave the go-ahead for the mobilization of Self-Defense Forces ground personnel and aircraft to evacuate Japanese citizens from South Sudan's capital, Juba, amid fighting between forces loyal to different government factions there.
Three Air Self-Defense Force C-130 transport planes took off from the Komaki Air Base in Aichi Prefecture in the early evening.
The South Sudan government has been battling since Thursday with an armed anti-government group, reportedly leaving hundreds of people dead and sparking fears that the country's civil war will flare up again.