The Cabinet on Friday approved Japan's antiterrorism action plan, which includes dispatching five naval vessels to the Indian Ocean to lend logistic support to the U.S.-led coalition.
Five Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels -- two supply ships and three destroyers -- will operate for six months in areas covering the Persian Gulf, the British island of Diego Garcia and Australia, according to the approved government plan.
Six Air Self-Defense Force C-130 cargo planes and two multipurpose support planes will also join the operation to airlift U.S. military personnel and equipment from Japan to the U.S. island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean, as well as to destinations in the Indian Ocean, the plan says.