Japan enacts law to allow SDF to engage in foreigner-only rescues

Japan on Wednesday enacted a law to allow the Self-Defense Forces to conduct rescue missions for foreign nationals only, after Tokyo failed to evacuate many of its local embassy staff in Afghanistan following the Taliban's return to power last August.The House of Councillors passed a bill to remove a restriction in the law on SDF operations limiting the rescue of non-Japanese individuals to those accompanying Japanese citizens.When Afghanistan fell to the Taliban after the United States began pulling out its troops in spring last year, the SDF was dispatched to evacuate around 500 people, i…READ FULL ARTICLE