Japan Self-Defense Force aircraft carry aid supplies for Turkey disaster relief

Japanese Self-Defense Force aircraft have been flying aid supplies to quake-hit Turkey as part of international emergency assistance.

In the most recent aid flight, a KC-767 aerial refueling tanker and transport plane landed at Incirlik Air Base near the southern Turkish city of Adana on Friday.

Twenty-five tons of tents and other supplies, which had been stowed aboard in Pakistan, were unloaded from the aircraft.

The Japanese Ambassador to Turkey, Suzuki Kazuhiro, said at the air base that his country has been providing seamless assistance to disaster-hit Turkey, including dispatching emergency response teams immediately after the disaster.

Suzuki said the focus of its support will shift from humanitarian relief to recovery assistance and his country will continue its activities based on Turkey's needs.

In February Japan's Self-Defense Force transported medical equipment. This is the second time for the SDF to engage in relief operations for Turkey and also the first time to do so in collaboration with NATO.

The SDF aircraft is expected to carry another 100 tons of supplies to Turkey from a storage site in Pakistan.

In Turkey, the quakes have left 49,589 people dead and about 230,000 buildings severely damaged.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230320_26/