ABSTRACT
On 24 April 1991 a decision to despatch four minesweepers to the Persian Gulf was made at an extraordinary meeting of the Japanese Cabinet. These four minesweepers (Yurishima, Hikoshima, Awashima and Sakushima), one flagship (Hayase), and a support ship (Tokiwa) departed two days later with Captain Ochiai Taosa hurriedly appointed commander of the task force. One day before the despatch, faced with civil groups protesting near the JDA, some peacefully, some torching vehicles, Prime Minister Kaifu Toshiki underlined to the House of Representatives’ Steering Committee on Foreign Affairs the peaceful objectives behind these extraordinary events: ‘it is quite important for those countries [which are capable of contributing to peacekeeping in the Persian Gulf] to cooperate in safety in the region’ (Japan Times, 26 April 1991). This intent was reinforced by the farewell address given by Ōshima Tadamori, deputy director-general of the JDA, who went to great pains to characterize the despatch as part of an international contribution. Fortunately for all parties concerned, this minesweeper episode came quietly to an end on 31 October 1991 with the return of the whole task force to the port of Kure after having detonated thirty-four mines without incurring any casualties.
