GSDF troops told to carry loaded weapons during S. Sudan mission

Japanese troops on U.N. peacekeeping operations in South Sudan in July 2016 were ordered to carry loaded weapons because of fierce gunbattles raging in the area where they were based, government sources revealed.

Although the Ground Self-Defense Force members were supposedly dispatched to a noncombat zone, the reality they encountered--as revealed in daily logs that have just come to light--was one of “sento,” or fierce fighting close by.

At no time did the troops fire their weapons.

“How else could you describe it if it wasn’t fierce fighting?” said a GSDF member who was part of the mission.

“We were dispatched to the site because it was dangerous. If it was safe, then civilians could have gone.”

The latest revelation follows earlier disclosures that GSDF members in South Sudan were issued with similar instructions in January 2014.

The GSDF logs show that fierce gunbattles raged July 8-10 in 2016 between South Sudanese forces and armed rebel groups in the capital city of Juba, where the Japanese troops were deployed.

The sound of gunfire was clearly audible within the GSDF unit’s camp.

To avoid being hit by stray bullets or compromised in other ways that could endanger their lives, the GSDF contingent was ordered to remain in the camp.

During this period, the GSDF unit commander ordered the troops to “carry loaded weapons” as a legitimate means of self-defense and in case the members came under armed attack if they had to make an emergency evacuation.

A log entry for July 10 states that fierce fighting erupted in Juba and troops “had to pay careful attention not to get entangled in the unexpected" situation.

A log entry for July 11 states: “Fierce gunfighting at five, six o’clock of the camp,” referring to directions on a clock face that are common military terms.

Until now, how the GSDF troops reacted in such circumstance remained unknown as sections related to “security measures” in logs for that day had been blacked out.

In response to a request under the freedom of information law for the release of the GSDF’s daily reports for the period in question, the Defense Ministry decided against disclosure in December 2016 by claiming the records no longer existed.

But in March 2017, top SDF officer admitted that daily logs from the South Sudan mission were kept in the GSDF archives.