Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Tuesday he has ordered the country's troops to conclude their firefighting operations in Indonesia, their first such mission overseas.A Japanese Self-Defense Forces transport ship carrying three CH-47 helicopters was sent to Indonesia, hit by severe forest fires, with disaster relief operations launched Sept. 16.Indonesia has informed Japan that the SDF operations have helped prevent the spread of the forest fires and that the Indonesian government can handle the response going forward.The choppers had carried out over 40 rounds of aerial fire…READ FULL ARTICLE
