The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Tokyo

Prime Minister Taro Aso said Sunday that Japan must keep backing the US-led "war on terror" and reiterated his support for his country's controversial naval mission off Afghanistan.

"We will continue to proactively engage in international peace activities, such as the war on terror," Aso told Japanese soldiers during a ceremonial review of the air force. "Many nations, depite having seen casualties, are preparing to increase their engagement with Afghanistan," he said. "It is not a choice for us to withdraw from our ongoing activities." Japan has provided naval fuel and other logistical support in the Indian Ocean to US-led forces operating in Afghanistan. The current naval mission is set to expire in January, and Aso is pushing to extend it. Japan's opposition, which controls the upper house of parliament, forced a temporary halt to the operation last year, arguing the officially pacifist country should not take part in "American wars."

Japan was forced to renounce the right to wage war after its defeat in World War II.