In search of a mission

As the special law for antiterrorism measures expired Nov. 1, the government halted the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Indian Ocean mission of refueling naval ships of the United States and other countries engaged in antiterrorism operations. The MSDF mission continued for almost six years. As the mission ends, the ruling coalition and the government are expressing the fear that Japan may be isolated in the international community. But now is a good opportunity to rethink how Japan can contribute to eradicating the root cause of terrorism.

As a byproduct of the Democratic Party of Japan's victory in the July 29 Upper House election, information that had been hidden has come to light in the Diet. It is now known that defense authorities had erroneously reported in the Diet on the amount of fuel oil supplied by the MSDF to the U.S. Navy and that the MSDF destroyed the logs of ships that took part in the Indian Ocean missions against the rules.

Suspicions have been raised that a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and an AEGIS destroyer that received fuel oil from the MSDF in February 2003 may have been engaged in Iraq-related operations. It has also come to light that attack planes from a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship that received MSDF fuel oil in September 2006 were engaged in bombing missions in Afghanistan.

First and foremost, the government should disclose information that will help give the total picture of the MSDF activities in the Indian Ocean and related matters. This should serve as the basis for discussions on what Japan should and can do in containing terrorism under the spirit of the war-renouncing Constitution.

So far, lawmakers have not held sufficient discussions on concrete measures Japan can take to help Afghans reconstruct their lives. In other words, they must pay attention to the real situation of Afghan people.

Since the DPJ is in a position to enliven such discussions, it should disclose as soon as possible a counterproposal to the government's new refueling bill. Mere opposition to the bill won't earn credibility for the party.