Chaotic Afghan exit compels Japan to rethink reliance on US security

Scrubbed SDF evacuation mission underscores Tokyo's limited options

20210819N Taliban fighters

 A Taliban member inspects an area outside Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. © Reuters

JUNNOSUKE KOBARA, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- The U.S., the U.K., Germany and other nations dispatched military planes to Kabul's international airport on Monday in a mad rush to evacuate their nationals following the Taliban's swift takeover of Afghanistan, but Japan never sent its own aircraft -- the only Group of Seven nation not to do so.

Sponsored Content

About Sponsored ContentThis content was commissioned by Nikkei's Global Business Bureau.