Japan's parliament enacted a law Friday to resume refueling
support for foreign vessels participating in antiterrorism
operations in and near Afghanistan, through a rare second vote in
the lower house.
The bill, which was voted down by the opposition-controlled
upper house in the morning, cleared the more powerful House of
Representatives with a two-thirds majority vote around 2:00 p.m.
local time (0500 GMT) in a 340-133 vote. In November, the lower
house had passed the bill once.
The new law, which allows the continuation of refueling
operations in the Indian Ocean, defines the activities as supplying
oil and water to foreign vessels engaged in antiterrorism maritime
interdiction operations in the Indian Ocean and limits the
activities to "non-combat" areas in the Indian Ocean. It expires
one year after coming into force and allows extension for up to one
year.
The United States welcomed the enactment of the law. Shortly
after the passage of the bill, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas
Schieffer said in a statement that "the U.S. appreciates the fact
that the Japanese government has taken this important step in
support of the international community's efforts to create a stable
and democratic Afghanistan."
Japan halted a six-year refueling support to U.S.-led
antiterrorism operations in and near Afghanistan at the end of
October, as the special antiterrorism measures law authorizing such
operations expired on Nov. 1.
According to local media reports, the Japanese government is
expected to adopt an implementation plan at a Cabinet meeting
possibly on Jan. 16 and the Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba will
then issue an order within the month, so that the Maritime Self-
Defense Force could be dispatched to the Indian Ocean to continue
the refueling mission around the mid-February at the earliest.
The restart of such missions is considered the most crucial
piece of legislation in the current parliament session for the
Cabinet under Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. The extraordinary
session was extended twice till Jan. 15 to allow enough time to
pass the government-sponsored bill.
Under Japan's constitution, if a bill fails to clear the House
of Councillors within 60 days, the bill could be sent back to the
lower chamber for a second vote, which would be final.
It is the first time in over five decades in Japan that a bill
was enacted into law through a second vote in the lower house after
being rejected by the upper house. The ruling Liberal Democratic
Party and its coalition New Komeito hold a more than two-thirds
majority in the 480-seat lower chamber.
(Xinhua News Agency January 11, 2008)
