Kyodo : December 25, 2008

Japan to send destroyer for antipiracy mission off Somalia in Feb
Kyodo : Dec 25 10:00 AM US/Eastern
(AP) - TOKYO, Dec. 25 (Kyodo) — Prime Minister Taro Aso indicated Thursday that Japan plans to dispatch a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer to waters off Somalia for sea patrol to protect Japanese ships from piracy activities. continued ...

Extra Diet session ends, 10 out of 15 gov't-proposed bills passed
Kyodo : Dec 25 07:30 AM US/Eastern
TOKYO, Dec. 25 (AP) - (Kyodo)—The 170th extraordinary Diet session ended Thursday after enacting laws to continue Japan's antiterrorism refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and to support the banking sector amid the global financial turmoil. continued ...