Two Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers and a supply ship left Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, on Friday for a two-month intelligence-gathering mission in the Indian Ocean as part of Japan's noncombat support of the U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan.
It was the first time for Japan to send Self-Defense Forces units to support combat operations.
The destroyers, the 5,200-ton Kurama and the 4,550-ton Kirisame, left Sasebo with the 8,100-ton fleet support ship Hamana shortly after 7 a.m. and are expected to arrive in the Indian Ocean in two weeks.