Ishiba Shigeru, Japanese Prime Minister: "We were able to exchange views among the leaders of G7 and confirmed close cooperation."  

The leaders of the Group of Seven countries held an online meeting on October 2 to confirm their collaboration amid escalating tension in the Middle East.  

During the meeting, the new Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba expressed serious concern about the situation, saying that such escalation is totally unacceptable and strongly condemned it.  

Ishiba further emphasized that it is crucial for the international community, including the G7, to urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint and work towards de-escalating the situation to prevent it from escalating into a full-scale war.  

On October 3, two Self-Defense Force transport planes departed from the Air Self-Defense Force's Miho Air Base in Tottori Prefecture in preparation for the evacuation of Japanese nationals and others from Lebanon.  

According to the Ministry of Defense, the C2 transport aircraft will head to neighboring Jordan and other countries to prepare for the evacuation amid the tense situation in the Middle East.  

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says there are about 50 Japanese nationals staying in Lebanon.  

On September 27, former Defense Minister Kihara Minoru issued an order to dispatch Self-Defense Force aircraft, and the Self-Defense Forces formed a joint task force of about 500 personnel.   

After coordinating the procedures and refueling sites along the flight route, the aircraft was dispatched.