Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Saturday Tokyo planned to send a team of environment ministry officials and specialists to Mauritius soon to respond to the oil spill.
A Japanese bulk carrier struck a coral reef off Mauritius on July 25, spilling about 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil and triggering a state of "environmental emergency" in what some scientists call the country's worst ecological disaster. The ship, MV Wakashio, is owned by Japan's Nagashiki Shipping and chartered by Mitsui OSK Lines.

Damascus cafe blast kills 5, wounds 16
Russian air strikes kill 10, injure more than 50 in Ukraine's Kyiv
Firefighters battle wildfire in southern France
US, Iran talks conclude in Doha, focused on Strait of Hormuz
Trump honours Theodore Roosevelt in North Dakota, debuts new Air Force One
Kenyan court charges 8 schoolgirls with fellow students' murder
At least 5 people killed in fire in Antwerp apartment block
Three people die in Mexico World Cup celebrations as fans crowd streets
