Japan to end 5-year peacekeeping mission in South Sudan
TOKYO — Japan is ending its peacekeeping mission in troubled South Sudan after five years, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Friday.
Abe said Japan would not renew the mission after the current rotation returns in May. The 350-person team has focused on road construction.
The team, which arrived in South Sudan in November, was Japan’s first with an expanded mandate to use force if necessary to protect civilians and U.N. staff. The Japanese military’s use of force is limited by the post-World War II constitution.
Abe said Japan would continue to assist South Sudan in other ways such as with food and humanitarian support, and will keep some personnel at the U.N. peacekeeping command office.