Japan's House of Councilors approved on Friday a bill which extends the special antiterrorism law for another year from November 1, following approvals from the lower house and the Cabinet earlier this month.

The bill passed the House of Councilors by a majority vote. This would be the third extension of the law, under which Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) ships can continue refueling U. S.-led coalition forces in the Indian Ocean in support of the antiterrorism campaign in Afghanistan.

The law, originally enacted in October 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, has been extended by two years in October 2003 and by another year in October 2005.

Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe has cited the extension of the special antiterrorism law as one of his administration's priority issues.

According to local reports, following the approval of the bill, the Japanese government will soon modify plans based on the special law to extend two naval vessel's dispatch period to May, 2007.

Statistics from the Defense Agency show that by the end of September, the MSDF had provided more than 450,000 kiloliters of fuel to warships and helicopters aboard the vessels from the United States, Britain, France and eight other countries.

Source: Xinhua