NHK has learned Japan is sending a fact-finding team to Lebanon on Friday in case Japanese Self-Defense Force personnel need to evacuate their compatriots from the country by air.

Sources say the team from the Defense Ministry will collect information and coordinate with Lebanese authorities in preparation for any potential evacuation.

Three SDF aircraft have already been dispatched to evacuate Japanese nationals from Israel.

Fighting between the Israeli military and the Shia militant group Hezbollah is continuing in border areas between Israel and Lebanon, causing civilian casualties. It erupted amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

Japan's Foreign Ministry is urging Japanese in Lebanon's border areas with Israel to evacuate immediately while ensuring their safety. It is also calling on Japanese in other parts of Lebanon to consider leaving.

Last Friday, the ministry raised its danger alert for Lebanon's border areas with Israel to the highest level of 4 and, for other parts of Lebanon, to Level 3.

The ministry says that as of October last year, 74 Japanese were staying in Lebanon.