Japanese Self Defence Forces in Haiti held a ceremony on Thursday to mark a change of command between the first and second contingent.              

The troops have been assisting in reconstruction efforts since the devastating January 12 earthquake which killed at least 200-thousand people.              

The 280 soldiers of the first contingent will be gradually replaced by a new influx of 350 soldiers. The last soldier is set to arrive on March 22.              

During the ceremony, Lieutenant General Miyajima thanked the outgoing troops for their work which included the construction of a camp, airport runway reconstruction and clearing debris from a key museum.              

Miyajima urged the second contingent to continue the mission.              

Getting ready to depart, Colonel Masaharu Yamamoto praised the Haitians for their resilience in the face of a massive disaster.              

Colonel Masashi Fukunaga, in charge of the second contingent said he hoped his experience would help the people of Haiti.      

[Masashi Fukunaga, Colonel, Second Contingent Commander]:

"I was born in the Kobe prefecture in Japan which was hit by a huge earthquake so I had experience with that. Two months after the earthquake in Haiti, there are still so many collapsed buildings so we want to start operations as soon as possible."                      

The Japanese forces have been involved in the clearing of rubble as well as engineering works.              

They brought with them 13 heavy engineering machines and 140 other vehicles.