Japan's medical team leaves for typhoon-ravaged Philippines

The Japanese government dispatched a 25-member medical team to the typhoon-ravaged Philippines on Monday to provide aid in the next two weeks. The aid team consists of 25 personnel, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists from the Japan Disaster Relief Team, left Narita Airport near Tokyo. Some 10,000 are believed to have been killed in the typhoon Haiyan that swept through the central part of the Philippines on Friday, which triggered a series of flooding and landslides, and resulting in massive damage. On Sunday, the Japanese government dispatched an assessment team consisted of two personnel from the Foreign Ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Meanwhile, Tokyo is also ready to send the Self-Defense Forces to offer relief support if there is a request from the Philippine government, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.