Between the end of WW2 and now, the nation of Japan has not entered into any acts of aggression against anyone. Today however, for the first time they are dispatching their ships to the Somali coast to combat piracy.
From CNN
March 13th, 2009Posted: 01:20 AM ET(CNN) — Japan’s defense minister has ordered two destroyers to help fight piracy in the waters off Somalia, the Kyodo news agency reported Friday.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers will be dispatched Saturday, Kyodo said.
The order, which the Cabinet approved earlier Friday, marks the first policing action for the MSDF, whose major missions overseas have focused on background support such as transport and refueling, the news agency said. A bill approved on the same day allows the MSDF to be deployed in piracy-infested waters as needed
Not cool Japan...
Update from Yahoo News
"Piracy is a threat to the international community, including Japan, and it is an issue that should be dealt with immediately," Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters on Friday after issuing the order.
"It is the government's important responsibility to protect the lives and property of the Japanese in these waters, which are an essential marine traffic area for our country."
Resource-poor Japan imports more than 80 percent of its crude oil from the Middle East, much of which is shipped through the waters now at risk from piracy.
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