The Japanese Defense Ministry is mulling to dispatch resident officials tasked with military information gathering to Africa countries in a move to strengthen its intelligence collecting capability in the countries, according to local media.

The officials will be sent to seven African countries, namely Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa, and Brazil in South America from fiscal 2014 to obtain information over terrorism and other security issues, Japan's Kyodo News quoted government officials as saying.

The defense ministry will include the costs in its budget request for fiscal 2014, said the report, adding that the ministry also plans to increase the number of such staff in European countries that have influence on Africa countries, such as Britain, Germany and France.

The plan comes after January's Algerian hostage crisis, in which several Japanese were killed in the North African country. A government report in February said the absence of defense officials at the Japanese embassy in Algeria was partly to blame for Japan's failure to gather sufficient information. Endi

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