🇯🇵🇮🇩 Japan Ends Indonesia Fire Mission

Japan will conclude its first overseas firefighting deployment after Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi ordered troops to end operations in Indonesia, where Self-Defense Forces helicopters had been assisting with forest fire response since Sept. 16. A transport ship carrying three CH-47 helicopters was sent to West Kalimantan, and the aircraft carried out more than 40 aerial firefighting sorties through Monday, dropping around 220 tons of water.

Jakarta told Tokyo the operation helped prevent further spread of the fires and that Indonesian authorities can now manage the response independently. The mission followed a May agreement between the Japanese and Indonesian defense ministers to expand cooperation in joint training and disaster relief, giving the deployment added weight as a practical test of bilateral defense coordination.

The Kunisaki, an 8,900-ton Osumi-class transport ship, left Kure in Hiroshima on Aug. 30 and arrived at Kijing Port on Sept. 10. Tokyo said it aims to deepen defense ties with Indonesia on the basis of trust built during the operation.

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