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Japan parties fail to reach consensus on support for US

Japan's two largest parties failed to agree yesterday on continuing a naval mission in the Indian Ocean, dealing a setback to the government, which has pledged to support the US-led "war on terror."

With legislation allowing support for the "anti-terror" mission expiring tomorrow, the refueling on Monday of a Pakistani destroyer was likely to be Japan's last contribution to the military effort for the time being.

The suspension comes amid growing opposition to the "war on terror" across countries which are part of the coalition that is battling a deadly insurgency by remnants of the extremist Taliban regime ousted in 2001.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda failed to reach a breakthrough in a meeting with opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa, who has vowed to fight the legislation allowing Japan to provide fuel and other support to forces in Afghanistan.

"I asked for his party's cooperation regarding the new anti-terrorism bill and explained the situation, but as of today we did not reach any agreement," Fukuda told reporters.

Ozawa, who is famed as a shrewd politician and is pushing for an early general election, has said that a pacifist Japan should not be part of "American wars."

"I told him that I cannot approve of it," Ozawa told reporters. "We need to have principles, which means that unless it's part of UN operations, it would not be possible."

Fukuda argues that Japan, as the world's second-largest economy, must play a greater role in global security. His predecessor, Shinzo Abe, abruptly resigned last month in part because of his failure to extend the mission.

The opposition won one house of parliament in July elections on a backlash over a series of domestic scandals under Abe, giving the bloc power to stall legislation.

The Japanese public has been split over the naval mission and the opposition has highlighted scandals at the defense ministry, including the former top bureaucrat's admission that he had accepted gifts from a military contractor.

A recent Kyodo News survey found that 46.4 percent of the public supported the naval deployment while 42.9 percent were opposed, with the rest undecided.

Ozawa rejected appeals from Western nations, Pakistan and Afghanistan to support the mission, including a personal visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
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