The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF)'s destroyer Murasame left its home port in central Japan's Kanagawa Prefecture Thursday for the Indian Ocean to resume the refueling mission for the U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan.
At a ceremony held at the pier of the Yokosuka marine base, Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said the refueling mission is part of Japan's international duty and will assist Afghanistan's reconstruction, according to Kyodo News.
The 13,500-ton fleet support ship Oumi will depart Sasebo port in southern Japan's Nagasaki Prefecture Friday to join Murasame on their way. The refueling mission will be back into order in February under the new antiterrorism special measures law valid for one year.
The refueling mission has been suspended since Nov. 1 as the previous antiterrorism special measures law expired.
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the government managed a new bill authorizing the mission through the Diet earlier this month by a seldomly-used legislative rule, overriding the rejection of the Upper House, which is controlled by the opposition bloc.
The bill had been the focus of Japanese politics for several months up to January since the major opposition Democratic Party of Japan, which confined the LDP's dominance only to the Lower House after last year's Upper House election, refused to cooperate on the issue.
Source:Xinhua
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