Over the past few weeks, the world watched as the Taliban steadily captured Afghanistan, city by city, province by province.
The swift collapse of the Ashraf Ghani government prompted mass evacuations from the country, both of foreign nationals and Afghans fearing what would become of them under Taliban rule. During these evacuations, the Japan Self-Defense Force has been quietly breaking new ground in the country’s security practice.
Both the rescue of Japanese and foreign nationals and the authorization for the SDF to use weapons, if necessary, is unprecedented. While it is hardly the most important thing going on in Afghanistan right now, the SDF’s operations represent a major milestone.