Japanese soldiers to go to Egypt

Japan will participate in its first military mission since WWII that isn't affiliated with a mission of the United Nations. Tokyo confirmed on Tuesday that members of its Self-Defense Force will be sent for peacekeeping duties in Egypt in April, a move that observers view as a solid step to loosening the shackles of the country's postwar pacifist constitution.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said two SDF soldiers will be sent to the command of the Multinational Force and Observers, or MFO, on the Sinai Peninsula in mid-April. The MFO monitors the border between Egypt and Israel according to the terms of the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries.

Iwaya said he hoped the dispatch will start after the middle of April when "necessary preparations were made and the specific schedule been reviewed".