Japanese destroyers began their anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia on March 30, marking the start of the first such mission abroad for the Self-Defense Forces, the Defense Ministry said.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Samidare starts its anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia on March 30. KYODO PHOTO

The Maritime Self-Defense Force's 4,650-ton Sazanami and 4,550-ton Samidare began escorting three automobile carriers and two tankers — all operated by Japanese firms — in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden, it said.

"Although (the mission) would be an added hardship for Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel, I expect them to do their best to keep Japanese ships from suffering casualties or pirate attacks," Prime Minister Taro Aso told reporters March 30 before the mission began.

On March 29, seven pirates opened fire on a German naval supply ship in the Gulf of Aden but were chased down and captured by an international anti-piracy task force, the Associated Press reported March 30, citing U.S. Navy and European officials.

The Japanese ships gathered on the eastern end of the gulf to move westward to the Red Sea over a distance of some 900 km as MSDF patrol helicopters kept watch from the sky, the ministry said. The escort is expected to take about two days to complete.

The MSDF destroyers left their base in Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, on March 14, the day after Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada ordered their dispatch under the pretext of the maritime police action provision of the Self-Defense Forces Law.

Under the provision, the SDF can protect only Japan-linked ships.