A parliament panel of Japan's lower house Monday passed a
controversial bill to resume the country's refueling support to
US-led antiterrorism operations in the Indian Ocean.
The bill cleared the House of Representatives' committee on
antiterrorism and Iraq reconstruction affairs on a majority vote
and will go through the lower house in a plenary session on Tuesday
and then be sent to the upper house.
However, the opposition-controlled House of Councilors is
expected to reject the bill, as the oppositions, led by the
Democratic Party of Japan, have been strongly against the Maritime
Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in and near Afghanistan.
Backed by the ruling camp, the parliament decided last week to
extend the current Diet session by 35 days through Dec. 15, to
guarantee sufficient time for deliberations over the bill.
If the bill fails to clear the House of Councilors, the ruling
parties are expected to take a second vote in the House of
Representatives and pass the bill into law with a two-thirds
majority, analysts said.
Japan had halted a six-year refueling support for foreign
vessels participating in US-led antiterrorism operations in and
near Afghanistan at the end of October before the special
antiterrorism measures law authorizing such operations expired on
Nov. 1. Last month, the government submitted to the Diet a bill for
a new law to continue the refueling support.
(Xinhua News Agency November 12, 2007)
