The Japanese government has decided to extend the Self-Defense Forces' anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia by one year.

The decision was made in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Officials said the fundamental problems in Somalia, such as poverty, that bring about piracy remain unsolved. They also said commercial ships are still requesting SDF escorts.

Japan has been guarding Japanese and foreign commercial ships in the Gulf of Aden, off the east African country, since 2009 based on the anti-piracy law. Currently, it has deployed one destroyer and two patrol aircraft. The mission is due to end on November 19.

The government also decided to extend information gathering activities in the Middle East by one year to secure the safety of ships connected to Japan. The destroyer and the patrol planes engage in such activities.

Also at the Cabinet meeting, the government decided to extend by a year the participation of two Self-Defense Force personnel in a multinational peacekeeping mission on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. This assignment was set to expire at the end of this month.