The Buzz | Japanese peacekeepers arrive in South Sudan with new mandate

Japanese peacekeepers, with a broader mandate to use force, landed in South Sudan yesterday, the first overseas deployment of the country’s troops with those expanded powers in nearly 70 years.

Dressed in green camouflage uniform, Squad leader Yoshino Tanaka stepped off the plane at the head of the Japanese group. He was greeted and shook hands with Japan’s ambassador to South Sudan, Masahiko Kiya.

The 350 Self-Defense Forces will be tasked with engineering and construction in the capital, Juba.

For the first time since the end of World War II, these peacekeepers will have the ability to use force to protect civilians, U.N. staff and themselves.