A KC-330 military transport plane takes off on Oct. 13 on an urgent mission to transport local community members stuck in Israel. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL & TOKYO, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – Last week, as Japan faced mounting criticism for charging its citizens for chartered evacuation flights from Israel while South Korea provided free assistance to its citizens, the Japanese government decided to align with South Korea’s approach and offer complimentary evacuation support.
In a recent development, the Japanese government has publicly expressed its intention to include additional South Korean families in the evacuation flights organized for its own citizens.
This move has captured the attention of domestic media, with some speculating that Japan’s decision is in response to South Korea’s actions last week. Notably, South Korea dispatched a military plane to evacuate its nationals in Israel, also bringing back 51 Japanese citizens in the process.
On the night of October 14, the South Korean aircraft landed at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, carrying a total of 220 individuals, including South Koreans and Japanese who had been in Israel. Japanese media reported a significant contrast: “Japanese government-chartered flights cost 30,000 yen per person, while the South Korean flight was provided at no charge.”
Particularly noteworthy is the fact that the South Korean government did not impose any fees, not only on South Korean citizens but also on the 51 Japanese and six Singaporeans who were evacuated alongside them.
To emphasize the contrast further, the South Korean government facilitated the free evacuation of Japanese citizens to Seoul, while the Japanese government charged 30,000 yen per person for evacuating its nationals to Dubai.
Japanese citizens took to social media to express their gratitude to South Korea and criticize Prime Minister Kishida’s cabinet, branding them as ineffective and inadequate. This public outcry stems from past incidents with similar outcomes.
In August 2021, the South Korean government dispatched Cygnus (KC-330) transport planes, the same type used in Israel, to rescue 390 individuals, including South Koreans and Afghans who had assisted South Korea, during the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan.
During the same crisis, Japan sent three JASDF transport planes with a capacity for 500 people but could only evacuate one person, effectively marking the operation as a failure.
One contributing factor to this failure was that the Japanese government had alerted the media about the operation even before sending the planes, inadvertently antagonizing the Taliban. In contrast, South Korea had carried out its operation secretly, code-naming it “Operation Miracle,” highlighting the element of surprise.
Understandably, the Japanese public is frustrated that such situations have recurred, with the approval ratings of the Kishida cabinet hitting an all-time low since its inception.
In response to escalating tensions in the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Japanese government is contemplating the use of Self-Defense Forces planes to evacuate its citizens from Israel free of charge. This initiative, which was reported by local broadcaster NHK on Wednesday, aims to ensure the safe return of Japanese citizens amidst the ongoing clashes between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
