The Air Force carrier C-130 planes carried the rescuers from Seognam, South Korea, about 8:10 a.m.
According to Yonhap news reports, the planes are en route to Fukushima, one of the regions hit hardest by the disaster, and plan to make a stopover either in Tokoy's Haneda or Narita airport due to turbulence, an official was quoted by tne agency.
South Korea has also redirected some of its incoming shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to send them to Japan to help address potential energy shortages after some nuclear power plants shut down and electricy went out, the news agency reported.
(아주경제 송지영 기자)
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com