Japan Press Weekly

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2008 September 3 - 9 [US FORCES]

Supporting U.S. forces is in national interest: defense white paper

The Fukuda Cabinet on September 5 approved the Defense Ministry’s annual report “Defense of Japan 2008” (White Paper on Defense) that calls for the continued Maritime Self-Defense Force refueling mission for U.S. warships in the Indian Ocean.

It stated that the MSDF refueling operation contributes to strengthening “the important infrastructure for maritime interception operations by vessels from various countries” and “contributes also to the interests of Japan which counts on resources from the Middle East.”

The defense report claims that the MSDF operation is appropriate for Japan to contribute to since few countries are capable of providing fuels on the ocean stably. It stressed that Japan “contributes to regional peace and security.”

However, the U.S. forces supported by the MSDF are taking part in the U.S.-led war against terrorism, which has nothing to do with the defense of “national interests” or “peace” but has created the chain of retaliation. The report admits that the attacks by the Taliban have increased and the unstable security situation continues in Afghanistan.

The defense report said that enactment of a permanent law to enable the SDF to be sent abroad “is appropriate and meaningful for Japan to quickly and effectively carry out activities to cooperate for international peace.”