TOKYO -- Japan dispatched Self-Defense Force aircraft to Kabul on Aug. 26 to evacuate local staff and others from Afghanistan after the country fell to the Taliban. The plan to bring evacuees to the airport aboard buses fell through due to suicide bomb attacks just before their departure.
While Japanese media and others in Japan are focused on who will be the next prime minister, it must not be forgotten that Afghanistan faces a crisis that requires immediate attention. Around 500 Afghan employees of the Japanese Embassy and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and their families were left behind despite their wish to leave.
