Japan opposition risks U.S. ire over Afghan mission

By Linda Sieg 1 hour, 24 minutes ago

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's main opposition party will find it hard to agree to extend support for U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan, its policy chief warned on Monday, a stance that could sour U.S. ties and deepen divisions among its own members.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to extend a law enabling Japan's navy to provide fuel and goods for U.S.-led coalition warships in the Indian Ocean as support for operations in Afghanistan, and called on Monday for opposition cooperation.

Photo: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reviews troops on the deck of Japan Maritime Self Defence Force refuelling ship 'Hamana', which was dispatched to support the U.S.-led efforts in Afghanistan, in Abu Dhabi, April 29, 2007. Japan's main opposition party will find it hard to agree to extend support for U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan, its policy chief warned on Monday, a stance that could sour U.S. ties and deepen divisions among its own members.

But Ichiro Ozawa, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), has come out against the move -- and despite calls from his predecessor to rethink that stance, party policy chief Takeaki Matsumoto said switching gears would be tough.

"We aren't saying from the beginning that we won't give approval ... but fundamentally we want to discontinue the law and have them come home," Matsumoto told Reuters in an interview.

"Of course, I am not saying that everything is decided already and we won't listen," Matsumoto added. "But I don't think that the hurdle (for approval) is low."

The DPJ position has prompted concern in Washington, and U.S. ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer is expected to press the case for extending the law when he meets Ozawa on Wednesday.

Last week's election deprived Abe's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner of their majority in the upper house, meaning the Democrats and their allies can reject bills approved by the lower chamber.

Bills rejected by the upper house can be returned to the lower chamber and enacted by the ruling parties' two-thirds majority, but that is a time-consuming process and the law enabling the Indian Ocean operation expires on November 1.

Ozawa, 65, a former LDP lawmaker who bolted the party in 1993, has long advocated transforming Japan into a "normal country" whose security policy is less constrained by its pacifist constitution.

LEARNING TO SAY 'NO'

But he has also urged Japan to adopt its own diplomatic course, even when it differs from that of the United States.

"U.S.-Japan relations don't mean doing everything that the United States wants," policy chief Matsumoto said.

The Democrats' most recent election manifesto also calls for all Japanese troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. Ground troops sent to Iraq by Abe's predecessor completed their non-combat mission last year, but about 200 air force personnel are in Kuwait to airlift supplies to the U.S. military in Iraq.

Picking a fight over the Indian Ocean mission, however, could well worsen divisions within the Democratic Party -- an often fractious mix of former LDP lawmakers, ex-socialists, and younger hawks such as former party leader Seiji Maehara.

Maehara told Reuters last week that he favored extending the legislation, although he ruled out the possibility of leaving the party over the issue.

"The party itself is not really sure what the party stands for on security issues," said Richard Samuels, a political science professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

"They have been held together by not being the LDP. That may not be enough going forward."

Some see signs that the Democrats, aware of the risks, are looking for ways to show flexibility as they try to prove they are a responsible party capable of governing.

Party executive Naoto Kan suggested on Sunday the party might be willing to sign off on a revised version of the law and some analysts said one way out might be to include a requirement for prior approval by parliament for the deployment.

Matsumoto, however, dismissed that as unlikely. "Even if the law they plan to submit includes prior approval, how can you give prior approval to something that has already happened?" he said.

(Additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto)