In July 1997 one was sent to Thailand amid upheavals in Cambodia, and in 1998 six were sent to Singapore in case Japanese needed to be evacuated from Indonesia.

[6] In October 2001 six squadron C-130s transported humanitarian aid (tents, blankets and relief supplies) for Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

[13] It was also announced that some of the people to be evacuated were non-Japanese working with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

[15][16] One aircraft participated in December 2015 edition of the US Air Force's Operation Christmas Drop in the Pacific, along with one RAAF C-130J and three US C-130s.

In January 2020 two squadron C-130s and around 80 SDF personnel flew to Australia during the unprecedented 2019–20 Australian bushfire season.

While not participating in Afghanistan directly they provided support by flying US equipment and personnel to Singapore, Guam and other places.

[41] In response to Typhoon Haiyan hitting the Philippines in November 2013 squadron C-130s were deployed, along with other SDF aircraft.

[47] In January 2016 after North Korea claimed to have exploded a hydrogen bomb, a squadron C-130, along with three Kawasaki T-4 aircraft, were used to test for radioactive particles.