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Japan's lower house passes bills to extend Afghanistan operations
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-10-18 15:53
Japan's lower house has passed bills to extend by one year a logistical
support mission in the Indian Ocean for US-led military operations in
Afghanistan, an official said.
The bills were immediately sent for approval in the less-powerful upper
house, which, like the lower house, is controlled by Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi's ruling coalition.
Japan originally passed a law two months after the September 11, 2001 attacks
on the United States to enable logistical support for Washington's so-called
"war on terror".
Under the law, Japanese supply ships have been refueling naval vessels from
the United States, Britain and eight other countries in the Indian Ocean, while
Japan has been a key provider of financial aid to Afghanistan.
Tokyo, which extended its logistical support mission in 2003 for two years,
was urged by Washington to revise the law to extend its mission again before it
expires on November 1.
Koizumi, a close ally of US President George W. Bush, is reported to have
been asked by Washington to extend its controversial deployment in Iraq beyond
December when the current mission expires.
Koizumi deployed the troops in 2003 and last year extended the mission,
Japan's first to a country at war since World War II.
Japanese troops, who are barred by the pacifist 1947 constitution from using
force except in the strictest definition of self-defense, have suffered no
casualties nor fired a shot in Iraq.
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