(Provisional translation by an external company for reference purpose only)
Firstly, I would like to report about accepting injured persons from Gaza to the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) Central Hospital. In the Gaza Strip, many civilian casualties have occurred since the clashes between Israel and the Palestinian militants began in October 2023. Currently, the United Nations has been withdrawing, and various forms of support are decreasing. In response to the serious humanitarian situation in Gaza, Japan has been providing various forms of assistance together with the international community. As part of such assistance, the Government of Japan has considered treating injured persons from Gaza in Japan, based on the request from the World Health Organization (WHO), while gaining the cooperation of the Government of Egypt. As a result, Japan has decided to accept persons who were injured in the conflict in the Gaza Strip and were hospitalized in Egypt. Today, one Palestinian woman from the Gaza Strip has arrived in Japan, and has already received treatment at the SDF Central Hospital. In the next few days, another person will arrive in Japan and begin treatment at the same hospital. This person is also a Palestinian woman from the Gaza Strip. Regarding this matter, it is a fundamental premise that these persons will return to their home region after treatment, as this initiative is not intended for permanent residence in Japan. The Government has committed to playing an active role in medium- to long-term recovery and reconstruction assistance in addition to urgent humanitarian assistance like that provided at this time, while coordinating with relevant countries and organizations. The Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the SDF will make every effort to provide adequate medical care to these injured persons from Gaza.
Next, I will report on the SDF’s response to the forest fires since March 23. Today is the fourth day since forest fires broke out in Okayama Prefecture and Ehime Prefecture on March 23. Despite coordinated firefighting efforts by the SDF and related agencies, the fires have not yet been extinguished due to dry conditions and strong winds. In addition, a forest fire newly broke out in Miyazaki Prefecture yesterday, the 25th. I would like to once again express my heartfelt sympathies to those affected. Since yesterday, the 25th, the MOD and the SDF have been engaged in firefighting activities as disaster relief operations simultaneously in three prefectures, Okayama, Ehime, and Miyazaki. We have been working in close coordination with local governments and making every effort to extinguish these fires. As these forest fires straddle a wide area across the Chugoku, Shikoku, and Kyushu regions, and given the need to efficiently and effectively deploy assets across the entire SDF to respond to multiple disasters occurring simultaneously, I have decided to establish central command under the Commander of the JSDF Joint Operations Command (JJOC), which was newly established. I just issued the order to the Commander of the JJOC. This response represents a full-scale operation for disaster relief shortly after the establishment of the JJOC, and I believe it will enable a quick and flexible response according to the situation and developments on the ground. Today, the 26th, under the central command of the Commander of the JJOC, we are conducting firefighting activities with approximately 20 aircraft, mainly using CH-47 large helicopters with high firefighting capacity, across the three prefectures, while paying careful attention to prevent secondary damage. The MOD and the SDF will work in close coordination with local governments and make every effort to alleviate the anxiety of residents in these areas as soon as possible.