Abe may pay visit to ASDF in Kuwait on Mideast tour

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering paying a visit to the Air Self-Defense Force unit stationed in Kuwait, sources said Tuesday.

He would be the first prime minister to visit a Self-Defense Forces unit deployed to the area since Japan began reconstruction aid in Iraq.

Abe, who took office in September, plans to make his first visit to the United States as prime minister on April 26. Afterward, he is scheduled to go to five Middle Eastern countries -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Egypt.

The visit to Kuwait is intended to encourage the ASDF unit, the sources said.

The unit is providing airlift support to U.N. personnel and multinational forces in Iraq.

The government endorsed a bill last week to extend the deployment for two years. The Diet must vote on the bill.

The ASDF began airlift operations from Kuwait in March 2004, initially to support Japanese ground troops in Samawah, Iraq, using a single C-130 transport plane.

After the Ground Self-Defense Force withdrew in July, the ASDF expanded its mission to airlifting personnel and supplies for the United Nations and coalition forces, using airports in Baghdad and Arbil in the north.