Japan's lower house of parliament approved yesterday the resumption of the nation's naval mission supporting the US-led "war on terror," setting up a battle in the opposition-controlled upper house.
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda pushed through the legislation days before he is set to hold his first summit with US President George W. Bush and amid speculation he would call a snap election if the opposition blocks the deployment.
The lower house, where Fukuda's coalition holds an overwhelming majority, voted 327-128 in favor of a bill to restart the mission, which provided fuel and other logistical aid on the Indian Ocean to vessels and aircraft supporting US-led forces in Afghanistan.
The naval mission, which began in 2001, ended on Nov. 1 over a deadlock in talks between the government and the opposition on extending the legislation.
The opposition won control of the upper house of parliament in July elections and has vowed that Japan, officially pacifist under its post-World War II Constitution, should not take part in "American wars."
"There has never been a clear and unequivocal constitutional interpretation" to justify the mission, Ichiro Ozawa, head of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), told reporters.
"History has shown the danger of sending troops overseas based on rhetoric," Ozawa said.
But the opposition party has been in disarray since Ozawa angered his colleagues this month by considering Fukuda's offer of a grand coalition.
Ozawa said he would step down but retracted his offer two days later.
Fukuda's predecessor, Shinzo Abe, an outspoken advocate for a more robust foreign policy, resigned in September in part over the opposition's refusal to extend the naval mission.
Abe returned to parliament yesterday after receiving prolonged treatment for stress-related illness and said he voted for the bill.
A close aide to Fukuda earlier threatened a snap general election, which does not need to be held until September 2009, unless the opposition compromises.
In preparation, Ozawa's party set up an election headquarters yesterday.
"Looking at the possibility of a general election by the end of the year, we are making full preparations as we move ahead," DPJ secretary general Yukio Hatoyama told party members.
Fukuda's Liberal Democratic Party has a strong organizational structure across Japan, where it has been in power for all but 10 months since 1955. It suffered this summer's election setback after a raft of scandals under Abe.
Fukuda, in a separate interview to London's Financial Times, hinted that elections were not a priority before Japan hosts the G8 summit in July next year.
"I hold the authority to call an election. In the absence of the dissolution of the lower house, we shall host the G8 summit," Fukuda said.
Chief government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura said no decision had been made on an early election.
"I can't say it will definitely occur or definitely not occur. Basically, it's too early to discuss things about the end of the term" of parliament, Machimura told reporters.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to