Non-Subscriber Extract
New Japanese defence minister to end Afghan support mission
By Kosuke Takahashi
22 September 2009
Japan's new defence minister, Toshimi Kitazawa, has said that he will terminate the Maritime Self-Defense Force's (MSDF's) refuelling operations in the Indian Ocean when the current mission expires on 15 January 2010.
In his inaugural ministerial address on 17 September, Kitazawa said: "It's not only our party's basic idea, but the three ruling parties' agreed policy that we won't extend the mission."
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) formed a ruling coalition with the Social Democrats and the New People's Party having won elections in August.
Kitazawa, a former vice-president of the DPJ, said the new administration would instead study the possibility of dispatching civilians to support international efforts in Afghanistan.
The DPJ has a history of opposing any military involvement in Afghanistan, having blocked the dispatch of Japanese naval vessels for three months in 2007.