Japan to extend Afghan mission despite slaying
Friday, 29 August 2008
TOKYO, Aug 28 (AFP): Japan said Thursday it planned to extend a controversial mission backing the US-led "war on terror" in Afghanistan, a day after Taliban extremists killed a Japanese aid worker in the war-torn country.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said the government would submit legislation to keep ships in the Indian Ocean providing fuel to the US-led coalition.
The mission is set to expire in January. The opposition briefly forced a halt to the mission last year, arguing that officially pacifist Japan should not take part in "American wars."
Machimura, the government's spokesman, noted that countries have been sending more troops to Afghanistan despite rising casualties. A total of 187 international soldiers and 25 aid workers have been killed this year.
"Right now each country is increasing its efforts to counter terrorism and bring domestic stability," Machimura told a news conference.
The opposition, which controls the upper house, is expected again to oppose the refuelling mission when parliament reopens on September 12.
But the ruling coalition can override the opposition using its strong majority in the more powerful lower house.
The mission plans come despite Japan's confirmation that aid worker Kazuya Ito (31) was shot dead in Afghanistan. Taliban militants said they snatched him Monday as he headed on a routine inspection of an irrigation plant.
"The best way to carry out the wishes of Mr. Ito and to show Japan's role as a peace-fostering nation is to lend a helping hand to people in the region who are suffering from poverty and conflict," Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said in a weekly email.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said the government would submit legislation to keep ships in the Indian Ocean providing fuel to the US-led coalition.
The mission is set to expire in January. The opposition briefly forced a halt to the mission last year, arguing that officially pacifist Japan should not take part in "American wars."
Machimura, the government's spokesman, noted that countries have been sending more troops to Afghanistan despite rising casualties. A total of 187 international soldiers and 25 aid workers have been killed this year.
"Right now each country is increasing its efforts to counter terrorism and bring domestic stability," Machimura told a news conference.
The opposition, which controls the upper house, is expected again to oppose the refuelling mission when parliament reopens on September 12.
But the ruling coalition can override the opposition using its strong majority in the more powerful lower house.
The mission plans come despite Japan's confirmation that aid worker Kazuya Ito (31) was shot dead in Afghanistan. Taliban militants said they snatched him Monday as he headed on a routine inspection of an irrigation plant.
"The best way to carry out the wishes of Mr. Ito and to show Japan's role as a peace-fostering nation is to lend a helping hand to people in the region who are suffering from poverty and conflict," Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said in a weekly email.