The next Self-Defense Forces dispatch to the Middle East might get Cabinet approval by the end of the year, government sources said, as Tokyo considered deploying one of its biggest warships.
For the information-collection mission, which is independent of the U.S.-led one to protect shipping in the area, Japan will divert one of its two P-3C planes patrolling the Gulf of Aden for pirates off Somalia, the sources said Sunday.
It is also considering deploying a helicopter-carrying destroyer, since its Aegis destroyers for intercepting ballistic missiles are guarding against North Korean threats around Japan.