Families of South Sudan-bound GSDF unit bid troops tearful farewell

AOMORI -- An advance group of around 130 members of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) set out from Aomori Airport on a United Nations peacekeeping mission in South Sudan on Nov. 20, as they were seen off by family and colleagues, some of them tearful.

GSDF members and their families began arriving at the airport on buses at around 8:30 a.m. The GSDF members went into the airport building, where they were given words of encouragement in front of the security gate by 9th Division leader Mitsuru Nodomi, and were sent off with handshakes.

The GSDF members number around 350 in total, and are composed mostly of the Aomori Prefecture Ninth Division. Their work will include road maintenance in South Sudan's capital Juba and its surroundings. The Self-Defense Force (SDF) members have been given the new duty under new security legislation to rush to the armed aid of others like United Nations personnel when they are attacked. The new roles will officially start from Dec. 12 and the GSDF members will join other countries' militaries in defending the campground they both use.

Along a road near the airport, some 70 protesters against the security legislation held up banners with messages like, "Don't' send young people from Aomori to South Sudan," while yelling "Protect the lives of SDF members."