Cabinet to endorse new antiterrorism bill

The Cabinet is set to endorse for submission to the Diet a contentious bill Wednesday that would allow Japan to continue providing refueling support for U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and near Afghanistan.

Passing this bill represents the first major challenge for the less-than-one-month-old Cabinet of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in parliament, where the opposition camp controls one of the two chambers.

The governing Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, the New Komeito party, are expected to give their final approval on the bill in the morning before it is authorized at an extraordinary Cabinet meeting in the afternoon.

The legislation limits Japan's activities to supplying fuel and water to forces from the United States and other countries engaged in operations aimed at clamping down on ships linked to terrorists in the Indian Ocean. It limits the period of the envisioned law to one year.

The bill has been prepared with the aim of replacing the current law that authorizes a slightly broader scope of operations to support U.S.-led antiterrorism efforts. The existing law, which also allows for search and rescue of missing combat participants and some other operations, was enacted just after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and is set to expire Nov. 1.

The government says Japan has provided over 480,000 kiloliters of fuel in the Indian Ocean to military ships from 11 countries as of this August. The refueling mission is likely to be suspended after the current law expires, pending parliamentary authorization of the new law.

Many lawmakers say it is hard to predict when the bill will clear the Diet due to the marked aversion to it by opposition lawmakers led by the Democratic Party of Japan. The current Diet session may also have to be extended as it is scheduled to end Nov. 10.

The current law invited allegations -- which the government has denied -- that Japanese ships refueled foreign supplied vessels also engaged in operations in Iraq.

To address this issue, the government is considering exchanging diplomatic documents with the United States and other countries that would state MSDF vessels will supply no ships that may be involved in Iraqi operations, lawmakers in the ruling parties said.

But the new law itself carries no provisions explicitly barring foreign oil tankers from gaining access to fuel supplied by Japan.

The lawmakers said the lack of specific provisions is intended to leave room for refueling such foreign ships when it is ensured that those supply vessels are only involved in the Afghan-related antiterrorism operations in the sea, technically known as the Operation Enduring Freedom-Maritime Interdiction Operation.

Another key focus of attention was how to ensure civilian control over the Self-Defense Force missions.

Though the bill lacks any provision requiring parliamentary approval of details of the Japanese operations, a joint panel of the LDP and New Komeito gave the green light to the bill Tuesday.

Opposition lawmakers may make an issue of this point in parliamentary debate arguing it is against the principle of civilian control. Governing coalition lawmakers say civilian control would be ensured given that the law is valid only for one year and it restricts activities to logistical support of providing fuel and water.

The new law also specifies that the domain of MSDF activity be limited to ''non-combat zones'' in the Indian Ocean, including the Persian Gulf.

The DPJ has been considering making its own proposal for assistance measures for Afghanistan to counter the ruling bloc's refueling law.