Japan withdrawing from S. Sudan, ending participation in U.N. mission since 2012

Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force troops will start leaving South Sudan on Monday as part of the process to end their five-year participation in the ongoing U.N. peacekeeping mission there.The first group of troops to head home consists of about 70 personnel of the 350-member GSDF unit that has stayed in South Sudan from around December last year. All members of the unit are expected to return by the end of May.The Japanese government announced the pullout of the troops from the U.N. mission in South Sudan in March, saying the construction of roads and other infrastructure by SDF members in…READ FULL ARTICLE