ABSTRACT
Japan's decision to deploy minesweepers to the Persian Gulf in the spring of 1991 following the War for Kuwait received little attention outside Asia. The Washington Post (25 April 1991) reported Japan's announcement of the deployment on page 21; a report of the minesweepers leaving port two days later merited page 11. The Wall Street Journal (25 April 1991) ran a brief story on page 10 suggesting Japan's action was a cautious but important step for its government and armed forces. The New York Times had little to say at all. Such scant attention has also been the case in academic writing. By contrast, the deployment of those naval forces was a topic of great interest to the United States government before and during the Gulf War, as it was of interest to Chinese, Australian, Indonesian, Korean, Malaysian, and Singaporean officials. Japan's press and public also found the event noteworthy.
