Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda vowed on Thursday to make
full efforts to resume the Maritime Self- Defense Force (MSDF)'s
refueling mission in the Indian Ocean for the US-led antiterrorism
operations in and around Afghanistan.
Fukuda made the remarks during talks with visiting US Defense
Secretary Robert Gates, who arrived in Japan earlier in the day
after visiting China and South Korea.
The premier reiterated the importance of the Japan-US ally and
promised to strengthen the alliance.
Gates in his part praised Japan for its past refueling support
for the multinational military activities and expressed the US
side's willingness to boost cooperation with Japan in areas such as
defense and security.
Gates met with Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba later in
the day. The two sides exchanged ideas on the realignment of
Japan-based US troops and the Korean peninsula nuclear issue.
Japan stopped the MSDF's refueling mission earlier this month as
the special antiterrorism measures law expired.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the largest
opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) have been at odds on the
resumption of the mission. The Japanese government submitted to the
Diet on October 17 a new bill to replace the expired one, while the
DPJ, which controls the upper house of the Diet, resisted to
compromise on the issue.
The ruling coalition, made up of the LDP and the minor New
Komeito Party, decided Thursday to seek extension of the current
Diet session for 35 days to December 15 in order to gain more
deliberation time for the passage of the bill.
Japan's parliament passed the original special antiterrorism law
in October 2001, one month after the September 11 attacks on the
US. The Japanese government's subsequent dispatch of the MSDF into
overseas mission under the law was the first of its kind after
WWII, marking a milestone-like transition in Japan's defense
policy.
The law was extended for two years in 2003 and was extended for
one year in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2007)
