AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ,
TOKYO: Japan's ruling party agreed Tuesday to extend for six months a groundbreaking mission providing logistical support in the Indian Ocean to US-led military operations in Afghanistan.
The Liberal Democratic Party backed the extension from the current deadline of May 1, setting the stage for the government to give the final green light later this month.
Japanese supply ships have been refueling naval vessels from the United States, Britain and eight other countries in the Indian Ocean.
Japan began the “anti-terrorism” mission in the Indian Ocean in December 2001 in the wake of the attacks on September 11 that year in the United States.
It was the most far-reaching military mission yet for Japan since it renounced war following its defeat in World War II.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi later, however, went further by deploying a reconstruction mission to Iraq, the first time since World War II that Japanese soldiers have been in a country where fighting is underway.
Japan, which has been seeking a greater international role, has also been a key provider of financial aid both in Afghanistan and Iraq.
