The Japanese Government says its troops serving in the UN Mission in South Sudan have started leaving the country after the end of their term.

In March, Japan announced the pullout, saying the construction of roads and other infrastructure by the forces produced significant results.

According to Japanese media, Japan’s Ground Self-Defense Force troops started leaving South Sudan today as part of the process to end their five-year participation in the ongoing U.N. peacekeeping mission there.

The first group of troops to head home consists of about 70 personnel of the 350-member GSDF unit that has stayed in South Sudan from around December last year.

All members of the unit are expected to return by the end of May.

The currently deployed troops drew particular attention in Japan as they were assigned new security roles under controversial security legislation that Japan put into force in March last year.

The legislation expands the SDF’s role overseas so that Japan can more actively contribute to regional and global peace.

Japan has been sending a civil engineering unit to South Sudan since 2012 as part of the U.N. mission.

The Spokesperson of the UN Mission in South Sudan, Daniel Dickinson confirmed to Eye Radio that the Japanese contingent have started leaving.

Also READ: Japanese troops leaving Juba to end peacekeeping