The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner the New Komeito party basically agreed Jan. 20 to a government plan to dispatch the Maritime Self-Defense Force for an anti-piracy mission off Somalia, lawmakers said.

The government seeks to send the mission under a maritime policing provision of the Self-Defense Forces Law to protect Japanese ships.

The Self-Defense Forces will likely be ordered to prepare to send ships to Somalia by the end of January so the MSDF can engage in anti-piracy operations starting in March, government sources have said.

The immediate aim of the maritime policing mission will be to protect two Japanese luxury liners scheduled to sail through waters off Somalia from late April to early May, the sources said.