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Japanese ship embarks on refueling trip

A Japanese destroyer departed yesterday to resume the country's anti-terrorism mission in the Indian Ocean after a divisive battle in parliament caused a three-month suspension.

The destroyer Murasame left the port of Yokosuka, to be joined later by a tanker. The ships' refueling mission, in support of US-led forces patrolling the Indian Ocean, was to begin in two to three weeks.

"Japan will fulfill its global responsibilities," Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said at a send-off ceremony attended by about 200 people. "This mission is highly appreciated abroad. It is a very important mission."

A small group of protesters stood outside the base's gate, waving banners and shouting slogans opposing the mission, but there were no incidents or arrests.

Japan had refueled ships since 2001 in support of US-led forces in Afghanistan, but was forced to abandon the mission in November when the opposition blocked an extension of the operation.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) overcame the logjam earlier this month by forcing a law through the Diet with its vast majority in the powerful lower house.

The new mission, however, will be more limited in scope, restricting Japanese ships to refueling only boats not directly involved in hostilities in Afghanistan. The limit is aimed at winning over a public wary of violating the spirit of the post-World War II pacifist Constitution.

The US had lobbied hard for the mission, and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda had been deeply embarrassed by having to withdraw the mission in November.

Japan had been a supporter of the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In addition to the Indian Ocean mission, Japan sent a contingent of troops on a non-combat, humanitarian mission to southern Iraq from 2004 to 2006.

Fukuda and other LDP lawmakers argued the naval mission was needed to fulfill Japan's obligations in the war against terrorism and give the country a world role commensurate with its economic clout.

Public opinion polls show Japanese are gradually coming to accept a greater role for their troops abroad -- as long as it does not involve combat.

The Democratic Party of Japan, which took control of the upper chamber in elections last year, has opposed the mission because it says military operations in Afghanistan do not have the explicit support of the UN and violates the Constitution.
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