Japan's lower house approves US anti-terror ops extension

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Japan's powerful lower house of parliament approved legislation Tuesday to extend a refueling mission in support of US-led anti-terrorism operations in the Indian Ocean until January 2010. The refueling mission, which is set to expire Jan. 15, faces almost certain rejection by the opposition-dominated upper house as political jockeying heats up before national elections. Prime Minister Taro Aso's ruling Liberal Democratic Party controls the lower house. "We should not stop the refueling mission at a time when many other countries are still fighting against terrorism in Afghanistan," LDP lawmaker Ben Kimura told a lower house plenary session Tuesday. Japan has a national interest in protecting the region's sea lanes, Kimura said. Energy-poor Japan depends heavily on oil from the Middle East.