TOKYO, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- After two explosions near the airport in Kabul left more than 103 people dead, the top Japanese government spokesman said on Friday that Japan will seek to evacuate its nationals and local staff at its embassy and other Japanese entities from Afghanistan in tandem with other countries, local media reported Friday.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said that so far he has not received any report of deaths or injuries among Japanese nationals and local staff after the bombings outside the airport.
"The situation is fluid and unpredictable, but we would like to continue making efforts to realize the safe evacuation of the people concerned while working closely with the United States and other countries involved and paying close attention to the safety of our country's personnel dispatched to Kabul airport," he told a regular news conference.
"Japan fiercely condemns terrorism in any form or for any purpose," he added.
After the Taliban took control of most parts of Afghanistan since mid August, Japan has sent three Self-Defense Forces (SDF) transport planes to Islamabad in neighboring Pakistan to use as an operational base for the evacuations from Kabul.
An SDF plane has landed in Kabul several times but so far has been unable to pick up any Japanese or local staff. According to a diplomatic source, up to about 500 people are scheduled to be evacuated from Afghanistan, including local staff of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi suggested that the SDF can still transport people despite the deadly explosions. Enditem
